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Compliments  of 

Mrs.   SARA  T.  D.   ROBINSON, 

Oakridge,  LAWRENCE,  KANSAS, 


'Copies  of  this  book,  postpaid,  will  be  mailed 
by  the  Publisher,  to  any  address,  on  receipt  of  $i. 


GOV.    ROBERT  J.  WALKER. 


REMINISCENCES 


OF 


Gov,  R.J.WALKER; 


WITH  THE  TRUE  STORY  OF 


THE  KESCUE  OF  KANSAS  FROM  SLAVERY. 


BY  GEO.  W.  BEOWN,  M.  D., 

HONORARY    CORRESPONDING    SECRETARY    OF   THE     HISTORICAL 
SOCIETY    OF    KANSAS. 


ROCKFORD,  ILL.: 

PRINTED   AND  PUBLISHED   BY   THE    AUTHOR. 
1902. 


GIFT 


<  ^ V 

V 


COPYRIGHT,    BY    G.    W.    BROWN,    M.    D. 

i 88^,  1902. 

ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED. 


DEDICATION. 


To  Mrs.  SARA  T.  D.  ROBINSON, 

Oakridge,    LAWRENCE,  KANSAS — 

ADAM: — Permit  me'  to  dedicate  these  humble  pages, 
relating  to  the  pioneer  history  of  your  great  and  pros 
perous  State,  to  your  kindly  care.  You  were  identified 
with  all  the  early  settlers  who  came  from  the  free  North  and 
located  in  and  around  Lawrence,  to  whom  your  hospitality  was 
always  cordially  extended. 

You  saw  a  bald  prairie,  converted  by  well-directed  toil  and 
genius  into  the  homes  of  an  opulent  and  free  people.  You  wit 
nessed  the  aggressions  of  the  stave  power,  shared  in  all  the  hardships 
and  dangers  which  environed  us.  Your  home  was  often  the 
council  chamber  of  the  Free  State  leaders.  That  home  with  all 
its  valuable  contents,  was  fired  by  pro-slavery  hands,  and  wholly 
consumed,  May  21,  1856,  when  my  own  Herald  of  Freedom 
office,  with  all  its  presses,  type,  and  fixtures,  Miller  &  Elliot's  Free 
State  office,  the  Emigrant  Aid  Company's  Hotel,  were  destroyed. 

Following  this  terrible  outrage  on  private  rights  your  husband 
Charles  Robinson,  G.  W.  Smith,  G.  W.  Deitzler,  Gaius  Jenkins 
and  myself  were  indicted,  by  direction  of  a  partisan  Court,  for 
high  treason;  our  only  offence  was  laboring  by  peaceful  means 
to  make  Kansas  free.  Held  as  prisoners  for  nearly  four  months, 
guarded  much  of  the  time  by  a  regiment  of  United  States  troops 
you  shared  the  captivity  with  your  husband,  and  wrote  while 
thus  environed,  the  fullest  and  most  authentic  history  yet  pub 
lished  of  those  border  troubles  and  pioneer  days. 

You  were  also  familiar  with  nearly  every  transpiring  event 
connected  with  thegreat  contest,  to  rescue  Kansas  from  slavery, 
and  were  frequently  advisory  to  lines  of  policy. 


REMINISCENCES 

While  all  this  is  true  of  yourself,  jour  late  husband,  by  his  con 
summate  coolness,  courage,  careful  consideration,  and  practical 
good  judgment,  was  recognized  as  the  head  of  the  Free  State 
party  in  all  its  trials,  adversities  and  triumphs.  He  was  made  the 
first  Governor  by  the  suffrages  of  a  free  people,  on  the  admission 
of  the  State  into  the  Union,  because  of  his  political,  social  and 
moral  worth.  He  wisely  directed  the  policy  of  the  State  during 
the  major  part  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  In  more  pacific 
times  he  laid  the  foundation  of  the  schools  of  learning  for  the 
Commonwealth,  and  contributed  largely  for  their  support  during 
their  infancy,  donating  the  domain  on  which  the  State  Univer 
sity  stands,  providing  by  will  that  his  large  estate  on  your  de 
mise,  shall  inure  to  that  University  for  its  endowment.  Hon 
ored  and  loved  by  all  classes  of  a  free  people,  therefore,  to  your 
Mrs.  ROBINSON,  to  the  memory  of  your  departed  husband,  to  the 
few  survivors  of  that  great  struggle  for  freedom,  and  to  the  de- 
scendents  of  those  who  are  gone,  to  the  press,  the  libraries  of 
your  State,  and  to  all  in  every  clime  who,  by  word  or  deed,  aided 
in  rescuing  Kansas  from  the  curse  of  slavery,  this  volume  is  re 
spectfully  inscribed. 


PREFACE. 


rHE  SUBSTANCE  of  these  pages  was  written  in  1881,  and 
was  published  in  the  Rockford,  111.,  Gazette  where  it  had  a 
large  reading.  Many  prominent  actors  in  the  Kansas 
strife  during  its  pioneer  days,  were  readers  of  the  paper,  while 
two  copies  were  subscribed  for,  and  are  now  on  file  in  the  Kansas 
Historical  Society.  To  date,  now  over  twenty  years,  not  a  single 
statement  herein  made,  has  been  called  in  question  so  far  as  the 
author  has  information,  yet  numerous  indorsements  have  been  re 
ceived  from  those  who  had  personal  knowledge  of  the  subjects 
treated.  Some  of  these  letters  will  be  quoted  as  notes,  else  in  our 
closing  pages,  while  their  originals  in  due  time  will  be  filed  for 
preservation  with  the  Kansas  Historical  Society.  Many  other 
letters  from  less  prominent  persons,  indorsing  this  narrative,  are 
also  on  file. 

At  the  suggestion  of  some  of  the  actors,  a  few  points  have  been 
elaborated,  and  new  ones  in  the  way  of  notes  have  been  added, 
-which  will  make  the  work  more  valuable  to  a  new  generation  and 
to  youthful  readers. 

The  information  herein  contained  could  not  be  given  the  pub 
lic,  with  propriety,  at  the  time  of  its  occurrence.  For  the  want 
of  this  information,  many  pages  of  what  was  designed  for  truth 
ful  history,  have  been  distorted,  while  actors  in  the  exciting  inci 
dents,  have  been  misrepresented  and  frequently  maligned.  Even 
recent  writers  have  taken  their  cue  from  early  press  correspond 
ents,  ignorant  of  the  truth,  or  the  motive  of  the  actors,  and  con 
tinue  to  falsify  and  mislead  their  readers,  giving  credit  for  results 
to  those  whose  belligerent  policy  retarded,  and  sometimes  threat 
ened  to  defeat  the  grand  result  of  making  Kansas  a  free  State. 

Having  been  a  personal  actor  throughout  that  exciting  period 


6  REMINISCENCES 

in  history,  the  editor  and  publisher  of  the  HERALD  of  FREEDOM, 
the  first  and  leading  free  state  paper  in  the  territory  from  the  be 
ginning  to  the  end  of  the  contest,  with  intimate  relations  with  all 
its  men  of  prominence,  and  as  our  Kansas  success  was  the  real 
incentive  of  the  South  to  Secession,  ultimating  in  the  extinction 
of  American  Slavery,  and  by  reflex  action  in  the  principal  king 
doms  of  the  world,  so  while  others  have  placed  themselves  on  rec 
ord,  it  seems  just  that  I,  too,  shall  be  heard  in  explanation  of 
many  events  wherein  myself,  and  those  acting  with  me  have  been 
misunderstood  and  bitterly  censured. 

I  greatly  regret  I  was  unable  to  give  a  wider  circulation  to  the 
truth,  before  so  many  of  the  real  heroes  in  the  strife  had  passed 
away. 

"Hear  all  sides  before  deciding,"  is  the  substance  of  a  Latin 
proverb  with  an  English  rendering.  Mine  is  the  "other  side"  not 
heretofore  so  fully  told.  So  much  as  is  contained  in  this  little 
volume  may  induce  the  re-writing  of  some  pages  of  tangled  Kan 
sas  history  to  make  them  better  agree  with  truth.  The  whole  is 
submitted  in  all  kindness  to  the  honest  and  thoughtful  considera 
tion  of  a  new  generation,  in  whose  hands  is  the  correction  of  the 
false  in  history.  THE  AUTHOR. 

907  Kilburn  Avenue, 

Rockford,  111. 


CHAJPTER  I. 


Introduction. 

fN  THE  autumn  of  1879,  the  author  of  these  pages 
was  solicited  to  write  his  recollections  of  Old 
John  Brown,  and  Gen.  Jas.  H.  Lane.  For  reasons 
sufficient  to  himself  he  has  chosen  to  defer  writing 
of  Gen.  Lane  until  a  future  time.  While  his  sketches 
of  Capt.  Brown  were  running  through  the  Eockford 
III,  Gazette,  and  several  Kansas  papers,  the  reading 
pnblic  were  so  much  interested  in  them  the  author 
was  respectfully  solicited,  by  prominent  actors  in  those 
times,  to  extend  the  series  so  as  to  embrace  most  of 
the  leading  incidents  in  the  early  history  of  Kansas. 

The  reader  is  well  aware  that  the  strife  between 
freedom  and  slavery,  beginning  with  the  application 
for  admission  of  Missouri  into  the  Union  in  1820,  had 
increased  in  intensity  until  the  final  repeal  of  the  Mis 
souri  Compromise  in  1854,  and  the  passage  of  the 
Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  by  which  those  Territories 
were  organized  and  opened  to  settlement. 

A  wild  rush  of  settlers  from  the  North  and  South 
to  these  new  regions  followed.  Each  party  was  deter 
mined  the  institutions  of  his  own  section  should  pre 
vail,  to  the  entire  exclusion  of  the  other.  Missouri, 
bounding  the  Territory  on  the  East,  felt  that  Kansas 
was  positively  her  own.  Her  loose  population,  in 
advance  of  the  extinguishment  of  Indian  titles,  set 
tled  along  the  water  courses,  and  upon  the  timber 


8  KEMINISCENCES   OF 

lands,  selecting  valuable  claims  for   neighbors  who 
were  expected  to  follow. 

Settlers  from  the  North  and  East  were  met  at  the 
threshold  of  the  territory,  and  informed  that  they 
should  settle  in  Nebraska;  that  Kansas  was  slave  Ter 
ritory;  and  that  at  any  sacrifice  of  blood  and  treasure 
the  South  had  resolved  to  make  it  a  slave  State.  But 
the  brave  and  adventurous  from  the  North,  taking  the 
institutions  of  their  own  section  with  them — a  free 
press,  schools  and  educated  labor — marched  on,  plot 
ted  cities,  and  laid  foundations  for  a  great  and  pros 
perous  Kepublic. 

On  the  30th  of  March,  1855,  in  response  to  the 
proclamation  of  Governor  Eeeder  ordering  an  elec 
tion  for  members  of  the  General  Assembly,  armed 
bodies  of  men,  numbering  several  thousands  in  the 
aggregate,  swarmed  through  the  Territory  from  Mis 
souri,  took  possession  of  the  polling  places,  intimida 
ted  and  drove  away  the  regularly  appointed  judges, 
substituted  their  own  men  in  their  places,  and  elected 
their  own  supple  tools — generally  residents  of  Mis 
souri — as  members  of  the  Legislature.  The  law- 
making  power  thus  imposed  on  the  actual  residents, 
a  very  large  majority  of  whom  were  in  favor  of  free 
dom — extended  the  laws  of  Missouri  over  that  young 
empire,  and  passed  others,  in  what  they  considered 
the  interests  of  slavery,  which  were  more  bloody  in 
their  leading  characteristics,  than  were  those  accred 
ited  to  Nero. 

The  anti-slavery  agitation,  so  long  pending  in  the 
States  and  in  Congress,  was  transferred  with  all  its 
bitterness,  to  the  plains  of  Kansas.  The  Northern 


GOVERNOR   WALKER  9 

mind  was  determined  that  slavery  should  not  entrench 
itself  on  free  soil.  The  South  was  fully  conscious 
that  its  favorite  institutions  could  not  survive  if  sur 
rounded  by  a  cordon  of  free  States. 

The  attempt  was  first  made  by  bluster  to  prevent 
Northern  people  from  settling  in  the  Territory.  In 
the  autumn  of  1853,  a  public  meeting  was  held  at 
Weston,  Mo. ,  presided  over  by  IT.  S.  Senator  David 
Atchison,  at  which  the  following  was  adopted: 

"Resolved,  That  if  the  Territory  shall  be  opened 
to  settlement,  we  pledge  ourselves  to  each  other  to 
extend  the  institutions  of  Missouri  over  the  Terri 
tory,  at  ivhatever  sacrifice  of  blood  and  treasure." 

On  June  10th,  1854,  ten  days  only  after  the  bill 
organizing  the  territory  was  signed  by  the  President, 
a  meeting  was  held  at  Parkville,  Mo.,  at  which,  with 
many  others,  the  following  were  passed: 

"Resolved,  That  we  recognize  the  institution  of 
slavery  as  already  existing  in  the  Territory,  and  rec 
ommend  slaveholders  to  introduce  their  property  as 
fast  as  possible. 

"Resolved,  That  we  afford  protection  to  no  Abo 
litionist  as  a  settler  in  Kansas  Territory." 

Similar  resolutions  were  adopted  all  along  the  Kan 
sas  border,  and  were  published  at  length  in  the  Mis 
souri  papers.  They  were  principally  designed  to 
intimidate  Northern  settlers  and  prevent  them  from 
locating  in  the  contested  Territory. 

Having  control  of  the  legislative  power,  with  the 
officers  and  all  the  machinery  of  government  at  their 
command,  they  next  attempted  to  enforce  the  laws 
they  had  made. 

The  discord  and  violence  which  followed  through 
the  years  of  1855,  1856,  and  which  were  arrested  by 


10  REMINISCENCES   OF 

Gov.  Geary,  in  September  of  the  last  year;  in  1857, 
under  the  administration  of  Gov.  Walker,  assumed  a 
new  form. 

The  Southern  States,  observing  their  waning 
power,  and  fully  satisfied  that  they  had  overdone  the 
bluster  and  violence  business,  changed  their  policy, 
and  thought  by  finesse  and  pacific  means,  with  federal 
aid,  to  fasten  on  the  people  a  pro-slavery  Constitu 
tion.  Gov.  Walker,  with  a  national  reputation,  was 
sent  to  Kansas  from  Mississippi,  endorsed  by  the 
President  and  the  entire  South,  with  the  arms  and 
treasure  of  the  country  at  his  bidding,  instructed  to 
secure  a  faithful  expression  of  the  popular  will,  and 
the  establishment  of  a  government  in  harmony  there 
with,  but,  as  the  sequel  shows,  with  the  purpose  of 
the  presidential  advisers,  to  make  it  a  slave  State. 

This  period  was  the  turning  point  in  Kansas  his 
tory.  From  it  came  a  free  State;  the  election  of 
President  Lincoln;  the  long  and  bloody  war  of  Seces 
sion  ;  the  triumph  of  federal  arms ;  and  the  outgrowth 
is  the  glorious  present  and  the  brilliant  future  which 
is  just  dawning  on  the  American  Eepublic. 

Whatever  can  throw  light  upon  this  forming  stage 
in  our  country's  history;  this  metamorphosis  from  a 
divided  people — partly  slave  and  partly  free — to  one 
of  equal  rights  to  all  before  the  law,  must  necessarily 
be  full  of  interest  to  the  general  reader,  and  espec 
ially  to  the  student.  History  is  but  the  aggregation 
of  events,  succinctly  stated.  General  history  is  made 
up  of  the  doings  of  a  large  number  of  people,  each 
of  whom  has  contributed  somewhat  towards  produc 
ing  the  general  result.  A  correct  history  of  any 
country  or  event,  can  not  be  written  until  the  leading 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  11 

actors  have  made  detailed  reports  of  incidents  in 
which  they  were  individually  engaged.  So  far  as 
they  fail  to  make  such  reports  so  far  will  the  general 
historian  be  deprived  of  the  requisite  material  from 
which  to  collate  a  correct  history  of  the  times. 

Conscious  that  thousands  of  others  have  recollec 
tions  of  thrilling  incidents  during  the  eventful  times 
of  which  I  write,  yet  each  one's  experience  was  pecu 
liarly  his  own,  and  each  contributed  his  full  share 
towards  bringing  about  the  favorable  result.  With 
out  attempting  to  rob  any  one  of  his  just  meed  of  pop 
ular  applause,  to  detract  one  particle  from  the  honors 
which  a  grateful  posterity  will  bestow  on  the  real 
heroes  in  the  Kansas  struggle,  I  do  propose,  in  these 
pages,  to  write  my  own  reminiscences  of  Gov.  Eobert 
J.  Walker,  with  an  outline  history  of  the  Lecompton 
Constitution,  and  the  final  rescue  of  Kansas  from 
Slavery.  Lovers  of  fair  and  impartial  history  will 
find  much  to  challenge  their  attention  in  these  pages, 
and  it  is  to  be  hoped  those  who  follow  us  to  the  con 
clusion  will -be  interested  and  instructed. 


CHAPTER  II. 


Outlines  of  History. 

MOST  interesting  period  in  Kansas  history, 
and  the  most  important  in  its  consequences  ta 
the  American  Republic  is  covered  by  the  interval 
lying  between  the  resignation  of  Gov.  Geary,  on  the 
10th  of  March,  1857,  and  the  final  defeat  of  the 
Lecompton  Constitution,  by  a  direct  vote  of  the  peo 
ple  against  it,  on  the  2d  of  August,  1858,  under  the 
provisions  of  the  so-called  English  law. 

As  briefly  referred  to  in  our  introduction,  the  pro- 
slavery  residents  of  Missouri  had  invaded  the  Terri 
tory,  at  its  first  election  for  delegates  to  Congress,. 
on  the  29th  of  November,  1854-  usurped  the  fran 
chises  of  the  settlers,  and  elected  J.  W.  Whitfield  to- 
represent  them  in  Congress.  They  came  ag^in  by 
thousands,  thoroughly  organized,  officered  and 
armed,  on  the  30th  of  March,  1855;  took  forcible  pos 
session  of  every  polling  precinct  in  the  Territory, 
save  one,  regardless  of  the  protests  of  the  actual  set 
tlers;  elected  their  own  men  to  represent  them  in  the 
Territorial  Legislature,  and  to  frame  a  code  of  laws- 
for  the  government  of  -the  people.  Gov.  Reeder, 
under  duress,  issued  certificates  of  election  to  a 
majority  of  the  fraudulently  elected  members.  The 
Legislature  was  convened  under  the  Governor's  direc 
tion,  at  Pawnee,  near  Fort  Biley,  on  the  2d  of  July, 
1855.  A  code  of  laws,  highly  obnoxious  in  their  pro- 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  13 

visions  upon  the  slavery  question,  as  upon  all  other  sub 
jects,  was  passed — the  judiciary,  in  advance  of  their 
enactment,  declaring  them  legal. 

The  people,  the  actual  residents  of  Kansas,  in  pub 
lic  conventions,  through  the  press,  and  on  the  ros 
trum,  repudiated  these  "bogus"  laws.  Collisions  fol 
lowed.  Gov.  Reeder  applied  the  title  of  "Border  Ruf 
fians  *  to  the  invaders,  denied  the  legality  of  the  stat 
utes,  and  refused  to  enforce  them.  He  was  removed 
by  President  Pierce,  and  Gov.  Shannon  succeeded 
him. 

For  a  time  Gov.  Shannon  seemed  the  willing  instru 
ment  of  the  slavery  propaganda;  but  before  the  close 
of  his  administration  he  discovered  his  error;  at- 

*Gov.  Reeder  soon  after  the  3Oth  of  March  visited  Washing 
ton,  hoping  to  induce  Prest.  Pierce  to  disregard  the  election.  On 
his  way  there  he  stopped  at  his  old  home,  at  Easton,  Pa.,  and  told 
the  story  of  Kansas'  wrongs,  in  a  speech  to  his  old  neighbors.  In 
this  he  designated  the  invaders  as  "Border  Ruffians,"  and  said 
they  were  led  by  their  chiefs,  David  R.  Atchison  and  B.  F. 
Stringfellow.  Soon  after  the  Governor's  return  to  Kansas,  he 
was  called  upon  by  Stringfellow,  and  a  party  of  kindred  spirits. 
Stringfellow  demanded  of  Reeder  to  know  if  he  made  the  state 
ment.  The  Governor  repeated  what  he  said;  that  the  Territory 
had  been  invaded  by  a  regularly  organized  company  of  armed  men, 
"Border  Ruffians,"  if  you  please,  who  took  possession  of  the  bal 
lot  boxes,  and  made  a  Legislature  to  suit  the  purposes  of  the  pro- 
slavery  party;  and  that  in  his  opinion  Gen.  Stringfellow  was 
responsible  for  the  result.  Stringfellow  sprang  to  his  feet,  seized 
his  chair,  and  felled  the  Governor  to  the  floor,  kicking  him  when 
down.  He  also  attempted  to  draw  a  revolver,  but  was  prevented 
from  using  it  by  District  Attorney  Isacks,  and  Mr.  Halderman, 
the  Governor's  private  secretary.  And  this  the  origin  of  the 
term,  so  common  on  the  Kansas  border  for  so  many  years,  of 
"Border  Ruffian."  Who  shall  say  it  was  not  well  merited.  (See 
H.  of  F.  Aug,  8,  '57,  2d.  col.,  ist  p.) 


14  REMINISCENCES  OF 

tempted  to  correct  himself;  incurred  the  displeasure 
of  the  ruffian  leaders ;  and  was  removed  by  their  head 
at  Washington. 

Gov.  Geary  came  to  Kansas  as  the  successor  of 
Gov.  Shannon,  in  September,  1856.  Secretary  Wood- 
son,  acting  Governor,  had  ordered  out  the  Territorial 
militia,  ostensibly  to  enforce  the  bogus  laws.  Missouri 
responded,  and  sent  forward  a  formidable  army,  bor 
dering  closely  on  three  thousand,  to  crush  out  the 
"Free  State  Insurgents."  The  latter  were  in  arms 
for  defense.  Thus  the  questions  involved  were  on 
the  eve  of  a  bloody  issue  when  Gov.  Geary  arrived  in 
the  Territory,  and  interposed  the  federal  army 
between  the  belligerents. 

A  Presidential  election  was  pending  in  the  States. 
The  people  of  the  North  were  greatly  incensed  at  the 
action  of  the  federal  government,  in  recognizing  and 
sustaining  the  usurpers  in  Kansas.  The  Republican 
party  was  formed  out  of  the  Free  Soil  party,  first 
organized  at  Buffalo,  in  1848,  fragments  of  the  dis 
banded  Whig  party,  with  many  disaffected  and  inde 
pendent  members  of  the  Democratic  party  who  were 
opposed  to  the  aggressions  of  slavery.  Gen.  Fremont, 
the  Republican  nominee,  and  the  friend  of  free  Kan 
sas,  was  defeated,  and  Jas.  Buchanan  was  elected. 

A  majority  of  the  lower  House  of  Congress  were  in 
sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  Territory.  They 
passed  laws  for  the  relief  of  the  settlers,  but  they 
were  invariably  defeated  in  the  Senate. 

As  President  Pierce's  administration  neared  its 
close  he  attempted  more  pacific  measures  for  Kansas. 
His  principal  adviser,  however,  was  that  arch-con- 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  15 

spirator,  Jefferson  Davis,  the  Secretary  of  War,  and 
but  little  was  accomplished. 

The  bogus  Legislature  of  1855,  deferred  another 
session  until  January,  1857.  The  second  session  was 
'held  at  Lecompton,  at  which  an  act  was  passed  mak 
ing  provisions  for  a  Convention  to  frame  a  state  Con 
stitution.  Gov.  Geary,  on  the  18th  of  February, 
vetoed  the  bill,  making  as  his  principal  objection  to  it 
that  there  was  no  requirement  for  submitting  the  Con 
stitution  when  framed  to  the  people  for  their  ratifica 
tion  or  rejection.  The  bill  was  passed  over  his  veto. 
Provisions  were  made  at  the  same  time  for  taking  a 
census,  for  the  registry  of  voters,  and  the  election  of 
sixty  delegates,  who  were  to  assemble  at  Lecompton 
on  the  third  Monday  of  September  following,  to  com 
mence  their  labors. 

A  Free  State  Convention  was  held  at  Topeka  on  the 
10th  of  March.  That  body  set  forth  in  a  preamble 
that  the  so-called  Legislative  Assembly,  ordering  a 
Constitutional  Convention,  was  a  creature  of  fraud; 
that  its  members  were  representatives  of  a  people 
foreign  to  the  Territory;  that  the  organic  law  did  not 
authorize  the  Legislature  to  pass  an  enabling  act,  to 
change  the  form  of  government;  that  the  Assembly 
was  partisan  in  its  character;  that  it  clearly  contem- 
templated  further  fraud  and  violence ;  that  it  deprives 
the  Executive  of  power  to  prevent  or  remedy  such 
fraud;  that  it  leaves  the  control  of  the  census,  the 
registry  of  voters,  the  apportionment  of  members, 
and  the  whole  machinery  pertaining  to  the  election  in 
the  hands  of  pretended  officers  not  elected  by  the 
people;  and  that  there  is  no  provision  for  submitting 
the  Constitution  so  framed  to  the  voters  for  their 


16  REMINISCENCES   OF 

approval  or  otherwise.  The  Convention  then  resolved 
that  they  could  not  participate  in  such  election  without 
compromising  their  rights  as  American  citizens,  sac 
rificing  the  best  interests  of  Kansas,  and  jeopardizing 
the  public  peace. 

On  the  same  day  with  the  assembling  of  this  Con 
vention  at  Topeka,  Gov.  Geary,  fearful  of  assassina 
tion  from  the  more  violent  of  the  pro-slavery  party — 
which  had  been  several  times  attempted — sent  his 
resignation  to  the  President,  and  quietly  left  the  Ter 
ritory,  issuing  a  farewell  address  to  the  people,  dated 
on  the  12th,  filled  with  valuable  advice  and  sugges 
tions  for  preserving  the  public  tranquility. 

On  the  10th  of  April  following,  ROBERT  J.  WALKER, 
of  Mississippi,  was  commissioned  Governor,  and 
FRED.  P.  STANTON,  of  Tennessee,  was  appointed  Sec 
retary. 

Daniel  Woodson,  of  Virginia,  was  the  first  Secre 
tary  of  Kansas,  serving  from  June  29th,  1854,  through 
the  whole  period  of  Governor  Reeder's,  Shannon's 
and  Geary's  administrations,  officiating  as  Acting 
Governor  during  the  absence  of  these  functionaries 
from  the  Territory,  and  during  vacations.  He  was  a 
willing  tool  of  the  slave  power;  and,  during  the  peri 
ods  he  was  acting  Governor,  the  Kansas  troubles 
were  at  their  greatest  hight. 

Secretary  Stanton  visited  Lawrence  for  the  first  on 
the  24th  of  April,  1857,  one  month  in  advance  of  the 
arrival  of  Gov.  Walker,  and  was  Acting  Governor  dur 
ing  the  interim.  He  was  received  by  the  people 
of  the  city  with  great  cordiality,  was  entertained  by 
Gov.  Eobinson  at  dinner,  and  at  the  Cincinnati 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  17 

House  in  the  evening,  where  he  partook  of  a  supper 
with  many  leading  citizens.  During  the  evening, 
he  was  called  on  by  the  people  generally,  for  a  speech. 
In  the  course  of  his  remarks  he  said: 

"You  wish  to  know  my  position  in  regard  to  the 
Territorial  laws.  Congress  has  recognized  them  as 
binding.  A  majority  of  that  body  gave  Whitfield  a 
seat  as  a  Territorial  delegate,  and  made  appropria 
tions  for  carrying  on  the  Government.  President 
Buchanan  has  recognized  the  laws  as  valid,  and  they 
must  be  received  as  such.  [Never!  from  the  multi 
tude.]  You  must  obey  them,  and  pay  the  taxes. 
\Neverl  no  NEVER!]  There  is  where  I  am  at  war 
with  you.  [  Then  let  there  be  war.  ]  It  shall  be  war 
to  the  knife,  and  knife  to  the  hilt!  I  say  it  without 
excitement,  and  wish  you  to  receive  it  as  such ;  the 
taxes  must  be  collected,  and  it  becomes  the  duty  of 
my  administration  to  see  that  they  are  collected. 
[Then  you  bring  the  government  into  collision  with 
them.] 

Aside  from  this  episode,  the  speech  of  Acting  Gov 
ernor  Stanton  was  well  received.  But  here  seemed 
the  elements  of  future  discord,  which  Gov.  Geary's 
six  months'  pacific  administration  just  closed,  had 
almost  wholly  allayed. 

I  introduce  this  incident  to  show  the  condition  of 
the  public  pulse,  and  the  determination  of  the  offi 
cials  at  the  time  of  Gov.  Walker's  arrival  at  Law 
rence,  just  five  weeks  thereafter. 


CHAPTER  III. 


Arrival  of  Governer  Walker. 

OY.  WALKER  reached  Leavenworth  on  the 
25th,  and  Lawrence  on  the  26th  of  May,  1857. 
He  had  been  accompanied  up  the  Missouri  by  Senator 
"Wilson,  of  Massachusetts.  Rev.  John  Pierpont,  and 
Dr.  Howe  reached  Lawrence  a  day  in  advance  of  the 
Governor,  and  arrangements  had  been  made  for  a  tem 
perance  meeting,  at  the  Unitarian  Church,  on  Tues 
day  evening.  Gov.  Walker,  who  tarried  over  night  in 
Lawrence,  was  in  attendance. 

I  am  sure  my  Kansas  readers  will  allow  a  slight 
digression,  while  I  recite  brief  paragraphs  in  the 
remarks  of  Senator  Wilson  and  Rev.  Pierpont,  com 
plimentary  of  the  country,  made  on  that  occasion. 
Said  Mr.  Wilson: 

"I  have  never  seen  a  more  pleasantly  located  place 
than  Lawrence,  or  a  more  fertile  region  than  that  sur 
rounding  the  city.  I  do  not  think  there  is  another 
such  a  lovely  site  for  a  town  on  the  western  continent. 
[Turning  to  Mr.  Pierpont,]  Perhaps  my  venerable 
friend,  who  has  traveled  all  over  the  old  world,  may 
have  seen  a  more  beautiful  landscape,  or  more  en 
chanting  scenery.  [Mr.  P.  answered  "No,  sir!"]  He 
says  'No,  sir.'  I  did  not  know  but  he  might  some 
where,  in  his  many  wanderings,  have  found  a  lovelier 
spot,  but  I  have  not  seen  it." 

Rev.  Pierpont,  possibly  inspired  by  Mr.  Wilson's 
appeal  to  him,  in  the  course  of  his  address,  which 
followed,  said: 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  19 

"I  have  probably  traveled  more  than  most  men  of 
my  profession,  having  journeyed  all  over  the  United 
States,  and  visited  each  of  them,  save  those  on  the 
Pacific  coast;  I  have  wandered  through  the  East, 
looked  out  upon  the  gorgeous  scenery  of  Northern  and 
Middle  Europe,  on  the  vine-clad  vales  of  the  Khine, 
and  down  from  the  Alpine  heights  of  Switzerland; 
I  have  traveled  through  sunny  Italy,  classic  Greece, 
the  land  of  Pyramids,  Holy  Palestine,  but  in  all  my 
wanderings  I  have  never  looked  upon  a  more  beautiful 
prospect  than  that  which  I  beheld  from  Mt.  Oread 
to-day.  I  can  well  say,  in  the  amended  language  of 
another,  'God  might  have  made  a  more  lovely  country, 
but  I  am  sure  He  has  never  done  it." 

Gov.  Walker  spoke  briefly,  but  he  touched  upon 
those  subjects  in  which  all  were  interested.  He 
referred  to  his  inaugural,  which  would  be  published 
the  next  day,  embracing  his  views  in  detail.  Among 
other  things  he  said: 

"I  recognize  no  right  but  that  of  the  majorty,  to 
decide  the  sectional  questions  which  have  disturbed 
the  Territory.  Upon  that  basis  I  shall  rest  the  admin 
istration  of  Kansas  affairs ;  and  it  will  be  my  endeavor 
to  establish  that  principle,  and  make  it  so  complete 
that  the  difficulties  now  existing  may  be  obviated  in 
the  shortest  way.  The  people — the  actual  bona  fide 
settlers,  and  none  others,  shall  be  allowed  the  right  of 
suffrage.  This  is  guaranteed  to  you,  and  it  shall  be 
my  province,  while  I  remain  your  Governor,  to  enforce 
to  the  fullest  extent,  your  legal  rights  in  this  regard." 

The  masses  of  the  people  were  very  much  pleased 
with  Gov.  Walker's  avowals,  and  leading  men  did  not 
hesitate  to  so  express  themselves  to  him. 

On  Wednesday,  the  27th  of  May,  he  continued  his 
journey  to  Lecompton,  where  he  read  his  inaugural, 
which,  it  was  afterwards  stated,  was  prepared  in 


20  REMINISCENCES   OF 

Washington,  and  submitted  to  President  Buchanan, 
who  approved  of  it,  also  to  a  few  friends  in  New 
York,  as  well  as  to  Senator  Douglas,  whom  the  Gov 
ernor  called  upon  in  Chicago.  In  his  address  he 
declared  himself  devoted  to  the  Union,  believing  that 
upon  its  preservation  depended  the  hopes,  not  of  this 
country  alone,  but  of  the  world.  He  was  profoundly 
anxious  to  remove  everything  which  endangered  its 
peace,  or  menaced  its  existence.  The  Kansas  ques 
tion,  in  his  judgment,  constituted  the  most  serious 
of  the  perils  with  which  it  is  now  environed;  and  he 
hoped  if  this  could  be  fairly  and  satisfactorily  adjusted 
the  last  of  the  dangers  which  threatened  its  peace  and 
prosperity  would  be  dispelled. 

While  tarrying  in  New  York,  on  his  way  to  Kansas, 
a  few  personal  friends  gave  him  a  public  entertain 
ment.  In  response  to  a  toast  on  that  occasion  he 
said : 

"Nothing  could  have  induced  me  to  accept  the  office 
of  Governor  of  Kansas,  tendered  me  by  the  Presi 
dent,  but  the  hope  of  restoring  peace  to  that  Territory, 
and  of  doing  something  to  settle  decisively  and  finally 
the  great  controversy  which  has  divided  the  country 
and  which  is  the  only  thing  endangering  the  peace 
and  stability  of  the  Union." 

Gov.  Walker's  name  was  familiar  to  the  entire 
country.  A  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  a  son  of  one 
of  the  distinguished  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
that  commonwealth;  a  lawyer  by  education;  locating 
in  Mississippi  in  early  manhood,  he  became  identified 
with  the  material  interests  of  the  state.  He  filled 
various  responsible  positions  in  the  local  government; 
was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate,  which  impor- 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  21 

taut  position  he  filled  from  1837  to  1845;  then,  as 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  he  was  a  leading  member 
in  President  Folk's  cabinet.  In  1846,  he  revised  the 
tariff  system  of  the  country,  and  his  project  became  a 
law  almost  as  it  came  from  his  hands.  To  his  great 
credit  it  can  be  said,  one  of  his  official  reports  on  the 
finances  of  the  country,  was  published  at  length,  at 
the  instance  of  Sir  Eobert  Peel,  in  the  London  Times, 
the  only  document  of  that  character  which  ever 
receied  such  marked  consideration  in  a  foreign  coun 
try.  Gov.  W.  married  a  grand-daughter  of  Benjamin 
Franklin.* 

In  coming  to  Kansas,  he  was  welcomed  with  great 
cordiality  by  all  classes.  The  pro-slavery  men  saw  in 
him  a  member  of  their  own  party,  sympathizing  fully 
with  Southern  institutions,  and  ready  at  all  times,  as 
they  hoped,  to  advance  their  interests  at  whatever 
sacrifice.  Many  of  the  Free  State  men,  indeed,  per 
haps  all  at  first,  were  apprehensive  that,  with  his 
superior  executive  ability,  great  talent  and  personal 
popularity  in  the  South,  he  would  so  manage  affairs 
as  to  fasten  slavery  upon  the  people  as  a  permanent 
institution.  Correspondents  of  the  Eastern  press 
located  in  Kansas,  commenced  denouncing  him  before 
his  arrival,  and  they  continued  that  course  long  after 
he  left  the  Territory.  Not  content  with  assailing 
him,  they  were  violent  in  their  abuse  of  all  Free  State 
men  who  were  on  friendly  terms  with  him,  and  who 

*Gov.  Robert  J.  Walker  was  born  in  Northumberland,  Pa., 
July,  23.  1801.  He  died  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  Nov.  11,  1869. 
He  was  educated  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  studied  law 
with  his  father,  married  a  daughter  of  Franklin  Bache,  a  grand 
daughter  of  Benjamin  Franklin. 


22  REMINISCENCES   OF 

said,  wrote  or  published  a  kindly  word  in  his  defense. 
Even  a  small  portion  of  the  Kansas  press  pursued  a 
similar  line  of  policy,  and,  so  far  as  it  had  the  power, 
embittered  many  good  men  against  him  at  the  outset. 
The  writer  had  the  pleasure  of  listening  to  the 
Governor's  few  remarks  at  the  Unitarian  Church,  and 
reported  portions  of  them  which  were  published  in 
the  Herald  of  Freedom  of  May  30.  He  thought  he 
saw  in  him  a  desire  to  deal  justly  by  all,  and  deter 
mined  that  he  would  do  nothing,  with  word  or  pen, 
to  drive  him  to  antagonism  with  the  Free  State  party. 


CHAPTER  TV. 

Interview  with  Gov.  Walker. 

On  Saturday,  the  30th  of  May,  Gov.  Walker 
returned  to  Lawrence,  from  Lecompton,  and  again 
stopped  at  the  Morrow  House.  He  was  waited  upon 
by  many  of  our  leading  citizens,  who  welcomed  him 
and  his  escort  to  the  Territory. 

On  Sunday  morning,  Sec'y  Stanton  and  E.  O.  Per- 
rine,  who  came  to  Kansas  with  the  Secretary,  and 
who  became  famed  among  the  people  for  his  brilliant 
speeches,  and  who  was  popularly  known  as  "Spread- 
Eagle  Perrine,"  called  upon  the  writer,  at  the  sanc 
tum  of  the  HERALD  OF  FREEDOM  office,  and  stated 
that  among  the  many  callers  on  the  Governor  the  day 
before  the  neglect  of  the  editor  to  visit  him  had  been 
noted;  that  the  Governor  had  remarked  about  it,  and, 
as  his  stay  in  Lawrence  would  be  brief,  it  would  give 
him  pleasure  to  have  an  interview. 

"Please  say  to  the  Governor,"  I  replied,  "that  he 
has  mistaken  our  positions.  I  am  the  editor  of  the 
Herald  of  Freedom,  Mr.  Walker  is  a  mere  Territo 
rial  Governor,  an  office  so  humble,  judging  by  the 
number  who  have  filled  that  station  during  the  last 
year  or  two,  as  hardly  to  be  worthy  of  mention.  Tell 
the  Governor  I  shall  be  sincerely  glad  to  see  him, 
and  shall  welcome  him  with  great  cordiality  to  my 
sanctum  sanctorum,  but  I  cannot  think  for  a  moment 
of  leaving  my  tripod  to  visit  merely  a  Kansas  Gov 
ernor." 


24  REMINISCENCES   OF 

"You  mean,  simply  that  as  the  mountain  will  not  go 
to  Mohamet,  Mohamet  must  go  to  the  mountain/* 
replied  Stanton,  laughing. 

"That  is  it  exactly." 

"A  good  joke,'-  said  Perrine.  "I  will  report  you, 
word  for  word  to  the  Governor ;  and  unless  I  mistake 
his  make-up  you  may  expect  a  call  from  him  this 
morning/' 

I  begged  him  to  modulate  the  remarks  somewhat, 
if  I  was  to  he  reported;  but  be  assured  us  it  would 
be  reported  verbatim.  Placing  himself  in  position 
he  repeated  the  speech,  whilst  Stanton  seemed  ready 
to  burst  with  laughter. 

They  left,  begging  me  not  to  leave  the  office  for  a 
short  time. 

Perhaps  twenty  minutes  elapsed,  when  the  same 
gentlemen  returned  with  Gov.  "Walker,  and  we  were 
introduced.  Yet  holding  the  Governor's  hand,  and 
standing  near  the  door,  I  said: 

"Governor,  I  understand  you  are  a  native  of  Penn 
sylvania." 

"I  was  born  there,  sir,  and  spent  the  early  years  of 
my  life  in  that  State,  and  I  still  look  upon  the  old 
Keystone  as  the  brightest  in  the  federal  arch." 

"I  hail  from  that  State,  and  indorse  your  senti 
ment,"  said  I. 

"Indeed,  from  what  county?/' 

"Crawford." 

"From  Crawford  county!  Why,  Mr.  Brown,  I 
spent  the  first  years  of  my  life  after  my  graduation 
in  that  county,  surveying  for  the  Holland  Land  Com 
pany." 


GOVERNOR  WALKER.  25 

"You  know  Mr.  Huidekoper,  then?" 

"I  was  in  the  employ  of  Harm  Jan  Huidekoper, 
and  when  I  left  his  service  he  presented  me  with  a 
purse,  [I  think  he  said  three  thousand  dollars],  with 
which  I  purchased  my  law  library — locating  in  Pitts- 
burg." 

"Why,  my  father  purchased  his  lands,"  said  I,  "of 
Mr.  Huidekoper,"  telling  him  where  they  were 
located. 

"I  remember  that  region  well.  John  B.  Wallace 
owned  lands  in  that  section.  How  strange.  Those 
old  names  come  back  to  me  so  strongly.  Alexander 
Power,  a  surveyor,  must  have  been  near  you." 

"Yes,  I  understand  he  took  a  quantity  of  land  in 
part  payment  for  his  services.  Conneautville  is 
located  on  his  lands." 

"Why,  Mr.  Brown,  we  are  old  acquaintances.  I  am 
really  glad  to  meet  you." 

All  this  time  we  had  remained  standing.  Taking 
chairs  we  talked  of  others  of  the  old  settlers  about 
Meadville,  most  of  whom  I  had  known  in  my  boy 
hood;  all  of  whom  had  since  passed  away. 

The  Governor  then  remarked  that  he  had  been  hav 
ing  a  very  rich  experience  for  the  last  few  weeks. 
"Four  weeks  ago  to-day,"  said  he,  "I  was  in  New 
York.  I  thought  I  would  like  to  hear  that  eccentric 
preacher,  Henry  Ward  Beecher.  So  I  paid  a  visit  to 
his  church.  He  gave  us  a  genuine  anti-slavery 
speech.  If  he  had  known  I  was  in  the  audience  I 
should  have  believed  it  was  designed  expressly  for 
my  ears;  but  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  have 
known  I  was  there.  The  following  Sunday  I  spent 


26  REMINISCENCES   OF 

Buffalo.  There  I  had  the  pleasure  of  listening  to 
another  anti-slavery  sermon.  I  came  up  the  Missouri 
on  a  steamer  with  Senator  Wilson.  The  passengers 
teased  him  to  make  a  speech,  and  of  course  it  was 
anti-slavery.  To-day  I  am  going  to  the  Unitarian 
church  to  hear  Rev.  Mr.  Nute.  I  expect  I  shall  be 
entertained  with  another  sermon  of  the  same  sort. 
Possibly  they  will  convert  me  to  their  views  yet," 
with  a  hearty  laugh,  in  which  all  joined.  Looking  at 
his  watch,  and  turning  to  Mr.  Stanton,  he  continued, 
''I  see  it  is  time  we  were  on  our  way  to  church.  Mr. 
Brown,  I  want  a  long  interview  with  you.  At  what 
hour  can  I  see  you?" 

"Consult  your  own  convenience,  Governor.  I  can 
be  at  leisure  at  any  time." 

"Two  o'clock,  then,  promptly  at  two  o'clock  I  shall 
call  upon  you.  I  must  not  miss  that  anti-slavery 
sermon." 

I  am  thus  particular  in  repeating  this  my  first  inter 
view  with  Gov.  Walker,  at  length,  as  furnishing  in 
part  a  key  to  the  pleasant  relations  which  afterwards 
existed  between  us,  and  which,  I  am  glad  to  write, 
were  in  no  manner  interrupted  for  a  single  moment. 
As  we  proceed  with  these  'Reminiscences'  I  trust  the 
reader  will  see  the  importance  attached  to  this  and  the 
afternoon  interview  in  moulding  the  future  of  Kan 
sas,  of  the  National  government,  and.  may  I  not  add, 
of  the  world? 


CHAPTER 


Important  Interview. 

EIFTEEN     minutes     before    two     o'clock    Gov. 
Walker  called  again  at  the  HERALD  OF  FREE 
DOM  office.     He  made  no  mention  whatever  of  the 
ehurch  service.     He  was    unattended  and    appeared 
in  excellent   spirits.     Being  seated,  he  began: 

"Mr.  Brown,  I  had  a  long  interview  with  Gov. 
Geary  before  leaving  Washington  in  regard  to  Kansas 
matters.  He  told  me  of  you,  and  requested  me  to 
make  your  acquaintance.  He  represented  you  as  an 
honest,  conscientious  and  truthful  journalist,  strongly 
anti-slavery,  but  opposed  to  all  sorts  of  disorder  and 
violence.  He  said  any  statement  you  may  make  to 
me  I  can  rely  upon  implicitly.  Now  I  would  like  to 
have  you  give  me  a  full  and  detailed  account  of  your 
troubles,  their  causes,  and  any  suggestions  you  may 
be  pleased  to  make  for  their  avoidance  in  the  future. 
I  wish  you  to  give  me  especially  your  views  of  Gov 
ernors  Eeeder  and  Shannon,  and  I  do  not  wish  you  to 
make  any  reservation  because  of  our  party  diffier- 
ences.  I  am  an  inquirer  after  truth,  and  I  have  come 
to  Kansas  with  an  earnest  determination  to  right  your 
wrongs  so  far  as  I  have  the  ability."  He  then  went 
on  to  say  that  the  strife  in  Kansas  was  only  a  removal 
to  another  field  of  a  long  struggle  in  the  South, 
headed  by  Calhoun,  looking  to  a  dissolution  of  the 
Union.  He  had  met  and  fought  it  on  every  sturnp  in 


28  REMINISCENCES   OF 

Mississippi.  "Why,  Mr.  Brown,  I  literally  wrapped 
the  flag  of  my  country  around  my  person,  in  some  of 
my  campaign  speeches  in  the  South,  and  declared 
that  when  I  died  I  would  die  under  its  protecting 
folds.  I  meant,  it  sir,  not  as  a  rhetorical  flourish,  but 
as  a  simple  fact.*  You  of  the  North  have  another 
set  of  extremists,  with  the  same  ends  in  view,  urging 
a  different  cause  for  reaching  that  end;  but  they  are 
revolutionists  and  disunionists  nevertheless,  and  it  is 
the  duty  of  all  good  men  everywhere  to  unite,  put  an 
end  to  these  difficulties,  and  the  dangers  threatening 
us.  Unless  we  do  so  but  a  few  years  will  find  us 
engaged  in  a  fratricidal  war,  the  most  calamitous  in 
its  results  of  any  which  has  ever  visited  the  world.  I 
hope  to  do  my  share  in  Kansas  to  avert  those  conse 
quences.  Now  begin,  commencing  with  Gov. 
Reeder's  administration." 

I  then  gave  the  Governor  a  short  sketch  of  the  lead 
ing  events  connected  with  Gov.  Keeder's  administra 
tion.  Mentioned  the  first  election  of  a  Delegate  ta 
Congress,  on  the  29th  of  November,  1854,  and  of  the 
scenes  of  violence  and  disorder  enacted  at  Leaven- 
worth,  as  furnished  me  by  my  own  special  corres 
pondent,  who  was  on  the  ground.  Passing  this,  I 
gave  him  an  account  of  the  invasion  of  every  election 


*Perhaps  it  is  a*  well  in  this  place  as  any  other  to  state  that 
on  the  breaking  out  of  the  w«1r  of  the  Rebellion,  Gov.  Walker  be 
came  an  intimate  acquaintance  of  President  Lincoln,  and  because 
of  his  great  financial  reputation,  was  sent  to  Europe,  where  he 
negotiated  sales  for  $250,000,000  of  United  States  bonds,  giving 
great  relief  to  our  pecuniary  necessities  for  ready  money  to  pros 
ecute  the  war.  He  published  four  pamphlets  in  England  on  the 
finances  and  resources  of  the  United  States,  in  1863 — 4. 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  29 

precinct  save  one,  on  the  30th  of  March,  1855,  by  an 
armed  body  of  strangers  from  Missouri,  who  came  in 
force,  nominated  and  elected  their  own  men  to  seats 
in  the  Legislative  Assembly,  excluding  the  Free  State 
settlers  from  the  polls,  or  allowing  a  few  to  vote 
near  the  close  of  the  day;  that  they  took  the  election 
returns  with  them  to  the  Shawnee  Mission,  near  the 
Missouri  border,  where  Gov.  Reeder  was  sojourning, 
and  compelled  him,  under  threats  of  violence,  to  issue 
certificates  of  election  to  a  majority  of  the  members 
of  the  first  Legislature  thus  fraudulently  elected.  I 
said:  "This  was  Gov.  Reeder's  first  great  error." 

"  Consented  to  do,  and  did  a  great  wrong,  from  fear 
of  personal  violence.  Why,  Mr.  Brown,  I  would  have 
suffered  the  amputation  of  my  right  hand  before  I 
would  have  done  such  an  act;  yes,  would  been  bored 
throught  by  a  bullet.  You  do  justly  in  holding  Gov. 
Reeder  responsible  for  the  consummation  of  that  ter 
rible  wrong  which  bad  men  had  inaugurated.  But 
I  am  interrupting  you.  Proceed." 

I  then  gave  an  account  of  the  second  election  which 
Oov.  Reeder  had  ordered,  to  elect  new  members  in 
those  districts  to  which  he  had  not  issued  certificates 
of  election. 

"A  silly  act,"  replied  the  Governor.  "All  parlia 
mentary  bodies  decide  upon  the  rights  of  its  own 
members  to  seats.  A  majority  of  that  Legislature 
held  certificates  of  election  from  the  Governor.  They 
constituted  a  quorum  for  business,  and  as  such,  could 
give  the  residue  of  the  seats  to  whom  they  pleased." 

I  stated  that  the  body  so  acted  when  convened  at 
Pawnee,  on  the  2d  day  of  July  following,  and  that 


30  REMINISCENCES   OF 

all  holding  certificates  from  the  Governor,  issued  for 
the  second  election,  were  removed,  and  the  invaders 
from  Missouri  were  given  the  seats  in  their  stead.  I 
then  gave  the  Governor  a  specimen  of  "  hasty  legis 
lation,"  which  I  witnessed  at  Pawnee  on  the  4th  of 
July,  1855.  Dr.  J.  H.  Stringfellow  introduced  a  bill 
in  the  lower  House,  on  the  morning  of  that  day,  with 
the  statement: 

"  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  bill,  more  important  in  its 
consequences,  than  that  signed  by  the  fathers  of  the 
American  revolution,  seventy-nine  years  ago  to-day. 
The  Declaration  of  Independence  gave  freedom  to 
America.  This  bill  which  I  shall  introduce  will  per 
petuate  it.  I  ask  immediate  action  on  the  subject, 
and  hope  the  House  will  suspend  the  rules,  and  allow 
it  to  pass  through  all  the  parliamentary  stages,  without 
the  usual  delay." 

He  read  substantially  as  follows : 

"Be  it  Enacted  by  the  Governor  and  Legislative 
Assembly  of  the  Territory  of  Kansas:  That  the  gen 
eral  laws  of  Missouri,  not  locally  inapplicable,  be  and 
the  same  are  hereby  enacted  and  extended  over  the 
Territory  of  Kansas," 

Some  member,  I  think  it  was  Mr.  Wilkinson,  of 
Pottawatomie  Creek,  moved  to  amend  by  substituting- 
the  statutes  of  Tennessee.  He  said  he  was  acquainted 
with  the  laws  of  that  State,  but  not  of  Missouri,  there 
fore  he  preferred  the  amendment.  Another  member 
sprang  to  his  feet  and  said: 

"Both,  the  statutes  of  Missouri  and  Tennessee  pro 
tect  the  institution  of  slavery,  and  that  is  enough  for 
me  to  know.  I  am  prepared  to  vote  for  the  bill  as 
it  now  stands." 

The  motion  to  amend  was  not  seconded.  The  rules 
were  suspended,  and  in  one  hour  from  the  introduc- 


GOVERNOR  WALKER.  31 

tion  of  the  bill  it  had  passed  its  several  readings,  and, 
as  far  as  the  Lower  House  was  concerned,  it  possessed 
all  i^he  elements  of  a  law.  It  was  signed  by  the 
Speaker,  and  carried  by  a  messenger  to  the  Council. 
I  followed  the  messenger  to  that  body,  and  saw  the 
bill  introduced;  but  my  recollection  is,  it  was  referred 
to  a  committee,  and  delayed  in  its  final  passage  until 
the  body  had  removed,  a  few  days  after,  to  the  Shaw- 
nee  Mission.  [It  is  proper  to  state  that  the  House 
Journal  does  not  make  mention  of  this  proceeding. 
Mr.  Wattles,  in  his  history  of  Kansas,  published  in 
the  Herald  of  Freedom,  applies  this  language  of 
Stringfellow's  to  another  measure,  and  says  that  "An 
act  to  establish  the  statutes  of  the  Territory  of  Kan 
sas,"  was  introduced  on  the  5th.  I  made  notes  of  the 
transaction  at  the  time,  and  feel  confident  that  I  am 
not  mistaken  in  this  statement.  ] 

The  Governor  laughed  heartily  over  the  incident 
as  I  narrated  it,  and  said:  "There  are  fanatics  in  all 
legislative  bodies,  and  it  is  evident  Stringfellow  is 
troubled  in  that  direction." 

I  then  called  his  attention  to  the  laws  they  passed, 
among  others  making  it  a  criminal  offense,  punish 
able  in  the  penitentiary,  to  write,  print,  publish  or 
declare  that  slavery  has  not  a  legal  existence  in 
Kansas." 

"Were  not  those  unwise  laws  repealed  at  the  late 
session  of  the  Legislative  Assembly?" 

"  Some  of  them  were,  but  enough  are  left  to  damn 
any  law-making  body." 

"Did  Gov.  Eeeder  sign  those  laws?"' 

"No,  he  repudiated  the  action  of  the  Legislature 


6%  REMINISCENCES   OF 

after  its  removal  to  the  Mission,  and  he  was  soon 
after  removed  by  the  president." 

"Well  what  of  Gov.  Shannon?'1* 

"Our  whole  people  gave  him  the  cold  shoulder 
on  his  arrival  in  the  Territory.  He  was  welcomed, 
and  feasted,  and  wined  by  pro-slavery  leaders,  and 
looked  upon  the  actual  settlers  as  outlaws,  and,  for  a 
time,  treated  them  as  such.  He  brought  on  the 
Wakarusa  war,  by  calling  the  Territorial  militia  into 
service  against  the  Free  State  settlers.  His  militia 
consisted  almost  wholly  of  the  rowdy  and  drinking 
element  in  Missouri,  who  responded  to  his  call,  and 
came  over  in  organized  companies,  with  all  the  muni 
tions  of  war,  swearing  vengeance  against  the  'd — d 
Yankee  paupers  at  Lawrence.'  " 

"There  was  no  collision  between  your  people  and 
the  Governor's  forces?" 

"No.  As  soon  as  the  facts  were  made  known  to 
the  Governor,  he  disbanded  his  'militia'  and  sent  them 
back  into  Missouri." 

"  The  sacking  of  Lawrence,  the  destruction  of  the 

*Gov.  Wilson  Shannon  was  a  lawyer  of  some  prominence.  In 
1838  he  was  elected  Governor  of  Ohio;  was  defeated  by  Tom 
Corwin  in  1840,  re-elected  in  1842;  in  1844  was  made  Minister  to 
Mexico;  in  1853  was  elected  to  Congress;  in  1855  was  appointed 
by  President  Pierce  as  Governor  of  Kansas.  Resigned  in  the 
summer  of  1856;  subsequently  located  with  his  family  in  Law-f 
rence,  where  he  was  in  the  practice  of  law  until  his  death,  August 
30,  1897.  Gov.  Shannon  was  a  man  of  sterling  integrity,  of  first 
class  legal  ability,  and  only  lacked  efficient  firmness  to  resist,  at 
the  outset,  the  demands  of  the  pro-slaverv  leaders  in  Kansas.  He 
died  universally  respected  by  all  parties.  His  wife,  whom  he  mar 
ried  in  Harrison  County,  Ohio,  survived  him,  and  died  in  January, 
1881,  universally  beloved. 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  33 

Free  State  presses,  your  Herald  of  Freedom  office 
included,  and  the  demolition  of  the  hotel  as  a  nuis 
ance,  was  under  his  administration?" 

"Yes;"  and  I  gave  him  a  brief  history  of  the  out 
rages. 

"  Sent  here  to  protect  the  people,  and  conniving  at 
their  destruction.  I  have  no  sympathy  with  such 
transactions.  Gov.  Shannon  left  the  Territory  under 
a  cloud,  did  he  not?" 

"Yes,  after  the  destruction  of  Lawrence  he  seemed 
to  fall  into  bad  odor  with  the  leaders  of  his  party. 
He  had  been  applied  to  for  United  States  troops  to 
aid  in  assessing  and  collecting  taxes  under  the  bogus 
laws.  He  refused  to  lend  the  army  for  such  services. 
It  is  said  for  this  reason  his  associate  officers  and 
party  generally  opposed  him,  and  succeeded  in  secur 
ing  his  removal.  They  threatened  him  with  a  bath 
in  the  river  before  leaving.  It  was  reported  that  he 
went  in  some  sort  of  disguise,  in  a  government 
conveyance,  to  Fort  Leavenworth,  where  he  took  a 
steamer  down  the  Missouri." 

"  I  think  Gov.  Geary  told  me  you,  with  others,  were 
indicted  for  high  treason.  What  was  your  offense?" 

"For  publishing  a  Free  State  newspaper,  I  sup 
pose.  We  were  charged  with  levying  war  against  the 
Government;  but  this  was  only  constructively.  Judge 
Lecompton  instructed  the  Grand  Jurors  that  advising 
resistance  to  the  Territorial  laws  was  constructive 
high  treason,  and  if  the  jurors  found  any  persons  had 
so  advised,  to  find  indictments  against  them." 

"  Under  our  Constitution  we  have  no  constructive 
high  treason.  An  overt  act  must  be  committed  to 


34  REMINISCENCES   OF 

constitute  the  crime,  and  this  must  be  proved  by  two 
witnesses.     You  had  no  trial?" 

"No;  we  were  held  some  four  months  as  prisoners, 
refused  bail,  guarded  a  portion  of  the  time  by  a  regi 
ment  of  United  States  troops,  then  released  on  our 
personal  recognizances  to  the  next  term  of  court, 
when  the  indictment  was  nolle  prossed." 

"  The  Legislature  last  winter  passed  a  law  calling  a 
convention  to  frame  a  State  Constitution,  I  am  told. 
What  are  your  people  going  to  do  about  it?" 

"Nothing." 

"Is  that  wise?" 

"  We  think  so." 

"  Why  do  you  take  such  a  position  ?  It  seems  to 
me  you  are  imperiling  everything.  You  claim  that 
your  friends  are  largely  in  the  majority.  If  so,  it 
occurs  to  me,  that  it  is  your  duty  to  engage  in  the 
election,  send  up  a  majority  who  favor  your  views, 
and  form  a  constitution  in  harmony  with  them.  In 
this  way  you  can  easily  slide  out  of  your  Territorial 
condition  into  that  of  a  State,  and  get  rid  of  all  your 
political  troubles." 

"I  apprehend,  Governor,  that  you  take  a  wrong 
view  of  this  question.  The  Legislature  provided  for 
the  taking  of  the  census,  and  the  registry  of  the  voters 
of  the  Territory,  and  made  a  provision  that  no  person 
should  be  allowed  to  vote  for  delegates  to  the  conven 
tion  whose  name  is  not  registered.  There  is  no  power 
in  the  people  to  correct  that  register.  The  work  has 
been  done,  so  far  as  done  at  all,  by  violent  pro-slavery 
men,  and  they  have  been  careful  to  exclude  nearly  all 
the  Free  State  men  from  the  register.  It  is  impos- 


GOVERNOR    WALKER.  35 

sible  under  the  law,  with  the  fraudulent  registration, 
to  elect  a  Free  State  delegation  from  any  district  in 
the  Territory.  No  provision  is  made  for  submitting 
the  constitution  to  the  people.  It  is  wholly  a  one 
sided  affair,  and,  as  such,  we  have  decided  to  pay  no 
attention  to  it,  and  resist  its  adoption  by  Congress." 

"A  very  unsafe  proceeding.  The  President  and 
Senate  are  understood  to  favor  the  formation  of  a 
State  Constitution,  as  the  easiest  way  of  getting  rid  of 
you.  You  cannot  count  with  safety  on  the  House. 
But  we  will  waive  that  matter.  You  are  to  have  a 
new  election  the  coming  autumn  for  a  Delegate  to 
Congress,  and  for  a  Legislative  Assembly.  What 
action  will  your  people  take  on  these  matters?" 

"They  have  resolved  not  to  participate  in  any 
•election  held  under  the  bogus  laws ;  and  as  the  ballot- 
box  is  hedged  in,  no  Free  State  man  can  participate 
in  the  election  under  them  without  dishonor." 

" To  what  do  you  refer?" 

"A  test  oath  is  required  of  all  who  vote,  that  they 
will  sustain  those  villainous  laws,  and  they  are  required 
to  pay  a  poll  tax  of  one  dollar." 

"  Suppose  I  issue  a  proclamation  declaring  any 
such  provisions  inoperative  and  void;  that  the  elec 
tions  must  be  held  under  the  provisions  of  the  organic 
act,  without  regard  to  your  local  legislation?  How, 
then,  will  your  people  feel  in  regard  to  voting?" 

"If  we  could  have  satisfactory  assurance  that  we 
shall  have  a  fair  and  impartial  election ;  that  none  but 
bona  fide  residents  of  the  Territory  shall  participate 
in  the  elections;  that  fraudulent  returns  shall  be  dis 
regarded,  by  the  election  committee  of  which  your 
honor  and  the  Secretary  are  members,  and  a  major- 


36  REMINISCENCES   OF 

ity;  and  the  objectional  features  just'meiitioned  shall 
be  ignored,  I  think  the  Free  State  party  will  engage 
in  the  election.  I  feel  like  doing  so,  and  will  use  the 
Herald  of  Freedom  to  influence  the  party  in  that 
direction." 

Mr.  Brown,  your  propositions  seem  just,  and  I  now 
give  you  my  pledge  that  each  suggestion  you  have 
made  shall  be  carried  out  to  the  letter,  on  condition 
you  will  get  your  party  to  participate  in  the  elections.'7 

"  I  promise  you  only  as  regards  the  election  of  a 
delegate  to  Congress,  and  for  members  of  the  Legis- 
ative  Assembly." 

"  Suppose  the  Constitution  is  submitted  to  a  full 
vote  of  the  people,  will  you  not  vote  for  its  reception 
or  rejection?" 

"  Governor,  we  cannot  so  far  recognize  the  bogus 
Legislature,  as  to  vote  even  against  a  Constitution 
framed  by  its  authority.  If,  however,  the  instrument, 
as  an  entirety,  is  submitted  to  the  whole  people  of 
Kansas,  and  our  friends  can  have  assurances  of  a  fair 
chance  under  it,  possibly  they  may  be  induced  to  vote 
it  down;  but  I  will  not  promise  at  present  to  favor 
such  a  measure  through  my  paper." 

"  We  agree  very  well.  There  is  another  matter  I 
wish  to  compare  views  with  you — that  is,  in  regard  to 
the  collection  of  taxes.  What  are  your  views  in. 
regard  to  them  ?" 

"That  we  will  resist  their  collection  to  the  extent 
of  our  power." 

"  You  do  not  mean  to  be  understood  that  you  would 
advise  forcible  resistance?" 

"I  mean,  Governor,  that  the  people  of  Kansas 
occupy  the  same  position  in  regard  to  these  laws,  and 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  37 

taxes  imposed  under  them,  as  did  our  revolutionary 
ancestors  in  regard  to  the  tax  levied  by  the  British 
government  on  the  colonies.  The  body  imposing 
these  taxes  on  the  people  of  Kansas  was  foreign  to  the 
soil;  it  had  no  interest  in  common  with  us;  we  had  no 
voice  in  its  election,  and  we  cannot  consent  to  be  gov 
erned  by  it,  or  forced  to  contribute  of  our  means  for 
its  support.  We  have  been  anxious  to  make  a  case 
for  the  Supreme  Court,  where  this  matter  may  be 
fully  adjudicated." 

"You  are  aware,  Mr.  Brown,  that  the  President 
recognizes  these  laws,  to  which  you  object,  as  valid; 
he  has  instructed  me,  as  your  Executive,  to  so  treat 
them;  and  has  placed  the  military  forces  of  the  United 
States  subject  to  my  order  to  put  down  any  opposition 
to  their  enforcement.  I  do  not  wish  any  collision 
with  your  people  and  will  do  all  I  can  to  avert  any; 
but  from  your  position  I  cannot  see  how  it  can  be 
avoided.  Suppose  1  am  called  upon,  as  I  probably 
will  be,  by  the  Sheriff  to  furnish  a  military  force  to 
aid  in  the  collection  of  taxes.  Under  my  instructions 
what  am  I  to  do  but  furnish  him  such  force?" 

"Do  this,  Governor,  procrastinate  action  until  after 
the  October  election.  If  you  give  us  a  fair  and 
impartial  election,  as  you  have  promised,  our  people 
will  engage  in  it.  If  we  elect  all  the  officers,  or  a 
majority,  even,  who  are  opposed  to  those  laws,  or  who 
favor  their  repeal,  then  you  will  not  be  called  upon 
after  such  election  for  the  posse  you  contemplate. 
If  we  are  defeated  by  fair  means,  then  it  will  be  evi 
dent  we  are  in  the  minority,  and  we  ought  to  pay  the 
taxes,  and  I  will  no  longer  oppose  their  collection?" 

"I  like  your  position,  Mr.  Brown,  and  am  inclined 


38  REMINISCENCES   OF 

to  favor  your  suggestion.  Possibly  we  could  do  the 
same  way  as  to  all  the  statutes,  and  delay  their  execu 
tion,  other  than  as  regards  the  elections,  until  the 
whole  matter  shall  be  thus  settled  in  October.  I  will 
talk  with  Secretary  Stanton  in  regard  to  the  matter; 
but  without  regard  to  his  views  I  will  agree  not  to 
use  the  troops  to  aid  in  the  collection  of  taxes  until 
after  the  October  election,  and  not  then  if  you  Free 
State  men  get  control  of  the  elective  offices." 

"  Thank  you,  Governor,  for  your  decision.  I  shall 
hold  you  to  this,  as  to  the  other  promises  you  have 
made."  I  then  called  his  attention  to  an  editorial  in 
the  Herald  of  Freedom  of  April  18th,  headed  "There 
is  Hope,"  written  soon  after  his  appointment  We 
said: 

"From  all  the  information  we  are  able  to  collect 
from  our  exchanges,  we  are  not  without  hope  in 
regard  to  our  new  Governor.  It  is  true  he  is  a 
Southern  man,  residing  in  the  extreme  South,  but  he 
is  not  an  ultraist,  nor  a  disunionist.  If  he  consults 
the  best  interests  of  Kansas,  and  regards  the  will  of 
the  majority,  and  does  justice  by  all  parties,  we  are 
satisfied.  We  do  not  ask  for  the  Free  State  Party  any 
special  privileges.  Give  us  equal  and  exact  justice, 
and  no  man  shall  ever  find  a  word  of  censure  for  him 
in  the  Herald  of  Freedom,  on  the  contrary,  if  he  will 
labor  to  correct  abuses  in  this  Territory,  we  will  exert 
our  humble  influence  to  strengthen  his  administra 
tion,  by  presenting  him  properly  before  the  public. 
Others  may  oppose  us,  as  they  have  in  the  past,  and 
may  labor  to  embarrass  Gov.  W.  in  the  discharge  of 
his  official  duties;  we  shall  not,  unless  we  are  satis 
fied  his  intentions  are  to  oppose  us,  and  enslave  the 


GOVEENOK   WALKER.  39 

people,  then  we  shall  not  hesitate  to  'let  slip  the  dogs 
of  war.' " 

"  This  is  more,  Mr.  Brown,  than  I  asked,  or  even 
expected.  I  am  truly  glad  I  have  met  you;  glad  I 
have  made  your  acquaintance;  glad  you  extended  the 
olive  branch  to  me,  before  I  started  Kansas-ward; 
glad  you  are  from  Pennsylvania,  my  native  State,  in 
which  I  have  always  taken  great  pride.  I  give  my 
hand,  as  a  token  of  personal  friendship.  Whatever  I 
can  do  to  advance  your  interests  please  command 
me." 

Our  interview  lasted  several  hours,  and  it  was  in  no 
way  interrupted.  It  made  a  favorable  and  lasting 
impression  on  my  mind  as  to  the  good  intentions  of 
the  Governor,  and  from  that  hour  I  felt  the  freedom 
of  Kansas  was  fully  assured. 


CHAPTER  -VI. 


Gov.  Walker's  Inaugural. 

N  HIS  Inaugural  Address,  of  date  May  27,  1857, 
Gov.  Walker  took  occasion  to  urge  the  people  of 
Kansas  to  participate  in  the  election  of  delegates  to 
the  Constitutional  Convention.  He  assured  them 
that  "the  authority  of  the  Convention  is  distinctly 
recognized  in  my  instructions  from  the  President." 
He  said:  "I  cannot  doubt  that  the  Convention,  after 
having  formed  a  State  Constitution,  will  submit  it  for 
ratification  or  rejection  to  a  majority  of  the  then 
actual  bona  fide  resident  settlers  of  Kansas."  He 
stated  that  his  instructions  were  to  sustain  the  reg 
ular  Legislature  in  assembling  a  Convention  to  frame 
a  State  Constitution ;  and  that  in  submitting  it  to  the 
people,  "the  fair  expression  of  the  popular  will  must 
not  be  interrupted  by  fraud  or  violence."  The  Gov 
ernor  labored  at  great  length  to  convince  the  people 
that  their  interests  favored  the  formation  of  a  State 
government.  In  regardt  o  the  slavery  question  he  said : 

"There  is  a  law  more  powerful  than  the  legislation 
of  man,  more  potent  than  passion  or  prejudice,  that 
must  ultimately  determine  the  location  of  slavery  in 
this  country.  It  is  the  isothermal  line,  it  is  the  law 
of  the  thermometer,  of  latitude  or  altitude,  regula 
ting  climate,  labor  and  productions,  and,  as  a  conse 
quence,  of  profit  and  loss."  He  promised  a  glowing 
future  for  Kansas,  "a  career  of  power,  progress  and 
prosperity  unsurpassed  in  the  history  of  the  world,'* 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  41 

if  the  questions  growing  out  of  slavery  were  peace 
fully  settled  by  the  people,  while,  in  vivid  contrast, 
he  showed  the  effects  if  this  strife  was  prolonged. 
"Fraud,  violence  and  injustice  will  reign  supreme 
throughout  our  borders,  and  we  will  have  achieved 
the  undying  infamy  of  having  destroyed  the  liberty 
of  our  country  and  the  world.  We  will  become  a  by 
word  of  reproach  and  obloquy;  and  all  history  will 
record  the  fact  that  'Kansas  was  the  grave  of  the 
American  Union.'1'  He  closed  his  long  address,  filling 
a  page  in  the  Herald  of  Freedom,  of  June  6,  1857, 
with  laudations  of  the  American  Constitution,  and 
unshaken  trust  in  an  overrulingProvidence,  saying, 
"It  is  this  hand  which  beckons  us  onward  in  the  path 
way  of  peaceful  progress,  expansion  and  renown, 
until  our  continent,  in  the  distant  future,  shall  be 
covered  with  the  folds  of  the  American  banner,  and, 
instructed  by  our  example,  all  the  nations  of  the 
world,  through  many  trials  and  sacrifices,  shall  estab 
lish  the  great  principles  of  our  constitutional  con 
federacy  of  free  and  sovereign  States." 

This  Inaugural  was  published  in  most  of  the  papers 
in  Kansas,  was  distributed  in  large  numbers  in 
pamphlet  form  among  the  people,  and  was  generally 
very  well  received.  Of  the  Governor  and  his  address 
the  writer  of  these  pages  at  the  time,  in  a  leading 
editorial  in  his  paper,  said: 

"The  policy  of  Gov.  Walker  is  a  policy  the  people 
of  Kansas  have  reason  to  hail  with  delight.  It  will 
release  them  from  political  thraldom,  it  will  give 
them  possession  of  all  their  God-given  rights.  The 
Territorial  Legislature  laid  a  plan  to  perpetuate  their 
power,  but  through  the  kindly  instrumentality  of 
Gov.  Walker  they  will  signally  fail." 


Strife  Brewing. 

OY.  WALKEE,  accompanied  by  Secretary  Stan- 
ton  and  E.  O.  Perrin,  visited  Topeka  on 
the  6th  of  June,  and  each  addressed  the  people  at 
length.  Here  the  Governor  delivered  his  real  inau 
gural.  That  of  the  27th,  as  before  stated,  was  pre 
pared  in  Washington,  while  yet  unacquainted  with  the 
people  he  was  going  out  to  govern;  the  address  at 
Topeka  was  evidently  an  extemporaneous  effort,  with 
the  people  of  Kansas  before  him.  He  was  still 
solicitous  they  should  participate  in  the  election,  and 
made  this  the  burden  of  his  logic.  He  claimed  that 
since  the  President  and  Congress  recognized  the  Ter 
ritorial  authorities,  there  was  no  other  way  by  which 
our  lost  rights  could  be  regained.  The  Governor 
pledged  the^people  anew  that  they  should  have  jus 
tice  at  the  ballot  box;  that  no  invasion  from  Missouri 
or  elsewhere  would  be  allowed  to  influence  or  control 
the  election;  that  the  Constitution  about  to  be  framed 
shall  be  submitted  in  its  entirety,  to  the  whole  peo 
ple,  that  if  it  is  not  so  submitted,  he  will  join  in 
opposing  it;  that  they  can  get  control  of  the  Territo 
rial  government  in  October  if  they  have  a  bona  fide 
majority  of  voters,  repeal  the  obnoxious  laws,  and 
enact  new  ones  such  as  the  majority  shall  approve. 

The  Governor  argued  at  length  against  the  Topeka 
Constitution;    showed     that     organization    with    an 


GOVERNOE  WALKER.  43 

attempt  to  enforce  any  pretended  laws  enacted  under 
it  would  be  revolutionary,  and  that  he  could  not  allow 
any  action  of  that  character. 

During  his  speech  the  Governor  was  asked:  "What 
of  the  taxes?"  As  if  recalling  his  agreement  made 
with  the  writer  on  the  30th  of  May,  only  eight  days 
before,  he  replied :  "Long  before  I  am  called  upon  for 
any  official  action,  the  reign  of  law,  of  justice,  and 
the  people  will  be  so  fully  established  here,  that,  as 
good  citizens,  you  will  cheerfully  pay  this  small  pit 
tance  to  support  your  own  government." 

While  Gov.  Walker  was  making  this  pacificatory 
speech  in  Topeka,  Deputy  Marshal  Faine,  who  was 
also  Deputy  Sheriff  and  Assessor,  was  in  the  vicinity 
of  Lawrence  attempting  to  levy  taxes.  This  was  no 
doubt  expressly  designed  by  the  pro-slavery  revolu 
tionists  as  an  element  of  strife,  hoping  to  enlist  the 
Governor  in  their  mad  schemes,  and  force  him  into 
collision  with  the  Free  State  people. 

The  latter  had  learned  of  the  intentions  of  these 
agitators,  and  held  a  public  meeting  in  Lawrence, 
Col.  James  Blood  in  the  chair,  in  which  they  sol 
emnly  resolved  they  would  pay  no  taxes  imposed. 

About  the  same  time  a  movement  was  on  foot  in 
Lawrence  to  organize  an  independent  city  govern 
ment.  This  last  movement  was  not  generally  favored 
by  the  property  holders.  However,  springing  from 
those  who  participated  in  the  election,  a  charter  was 
made  and  adopted,  and  officers  were  elected  under  it. 

Rumors  were  continually  rife  that  the  "fire-eaters" 
at  Lecompton  were  daily  importuning  the  Governor 
for  United  States  troops  to  send  to  Lawrence  to  aid  in 


44  REMINISCENCES   OF 

the  assessment  and  collection  of  taxes,  and  to  prevent 
the  Topeka  Legislature  from  assembling. 

The  Topeka  Legislature  assembled  on  the  9th  of 
June.  They  continued  in  session  until  the  13th,  and 
adjourned  sine  die,  first  making  provision  for  its  own 
perpetuation,  that  it  might  be  used  in  case  of  neces 
sity. 

On  the  15th  of  June  that  portion  of  the  "regis 
tered"  voters  of  Kansas,  who  desired,  engaged  in  the 
election  of  delegates  to  a  Constitutional  Convention, 
under  bogus  authority,  no  Free  State  men  partici 
pating  in  such  election.  Though  Gov.  Walker  had 
repeatedly  given  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  voting  pop 
ulation  of  the  Territory  equaled  25,000  to  30,000,  yet 
a  trifle  less  than  2,000  votes  were  polled,  and  many  of 
these  were  fraudulent.  Whole  counties,  quite  densely 
populated,  had  no  chance  for  representation;  however 
the  census  was  not  taken  in  such  counties,  neither 
were  any  voters  registered,  without  which  they  had  no 
right  to  vote  under  the  law. 


CHAJPTER  VIII. 


A  Policy  for  the  Future. 

HE  LEADING  editorial  in  the  Herald  of  Free- 
dom  of  July  4,  1857,  defined  at  length  the 
writer's  position  in  regard  to  the  future  policy  of  that 
paper,  and  what  was  deemed  by  the  editor,  indis 
pensable  to  the  final  success  of  the  Free  State  party. 
Before  putting  it  in  type  we  invited  a  dozen  or  more 
personal  friends,  gentlemen  who  had  been  frequent 
contributors  to  the  paper,  to  meet  at  our  office,  to 
whom  we  read  the  article  at  length,  and  asked  each 
in  turn  his  candid  opinion  of  the  program.  Among 
the  number  present  was  our  associate,  Augustus 
Wattles;  our  head  clerk,  A.  P.  Nixon;  and  foreman, 
H.  Bisbee;  John  M.  Coe,  Erastus  Heath,  E.  S.  Low- 
man,  Judge  G.  W.  Smith,  and,  if  we  remember  rightly, 
J.  S.  Emery  and  Joel  K.  Goodin  were  of  that  num 
ber.  Each  one  fully  approved  of  the  editorial,  and 
promised  to  labor  with  voice  and  pen,  to  carry  out  in 
good  faith  the  propositions.  Knowing  full  well  the 
violent  opposition  the  new  position  would  meet  from 
our  own  party  friends,  we  took  this  action  to  know  on 
whom  we  could  rely  during  the  protracted  con 
troversy  which  would  inevitably  follow.  The 
importance  of  that  editorial  justifies  its  publication 
entire.  It  was  headed,  "The  Past — A  Plan  for  the 
Future."  We  quote: 

"  In  another  place  will  be  found  the  leading  edito 
rial  which  was  published  in  the  first  number  of  the 


46  REMINISCENCES   OF 

Herald  of  Freedom.  That  number  was  worked  off 
on  our  power  press,  in  Pennsylvania,  before  taking  it 
down  to  ship  to  Kansas.  Twenty-one  thousand  copies 
were  printed,  bearing  date  October  21st,  1854,  though 
it  was  actually  printed  as  early  as  the  20th  of  Sep 
tember  previous.  We  re-publish  it,  that  all  our  pres 
ent  readers  may  see  where  we  stood  at  that  time — 
our  motive  in  coming  here,  as  indicated  in  the  fore 
part  of  March  of  that  year — what  our  hopes  were, 
and  the  instrumentalities  we  desired  to  employ  in 
working  the  freedom  of  Kansas.  Devoted  then,  as 
now,  to  the  American  Union;  believing  that  all  our 
political  ills  could  be  cured  by  the  ballot  box;  and 
believing  that  Kansas  was  rich  in  the  natural  ele 
ments  which  are  the  foundations  of  wealth,  we  relied 
upon  the  press  to  develop  the  resources  of  the  coun 
try,  induce  a  heavy  immigration,  and  through  that 
emigration  to  control  the  political  destinies  of  the 
Territory. 

"It  was  not  a  part  of  our  programme,  nor  never  has 
been,  to  array  ourselves  against  the  Federal  Union. 
As  a  Kepublican,  we  believed  in  the  doctrine  that  the 
majority  must  rule;  if  they  cannot  rule  by  the  bal 
lot,  they  will  be  the  minority  in  strength,  when  the 
issue  is  decided  by  the  sword,  and  might  as  well  sub 
mit  first  as  last. 

"Our  troubles  came  on  here  in  Kansas.  The  major 
ity  were  beaten  and  ground  down  by  invaders  from 
abroad,  and  the  principles  of  republicanism  were 
crushed  for  the  time.  Notwithstanding  this,  we  have 
always  been  strong  in  the  faith  that  the  majority 
would  triumph.  In  the  language  of  our  leader, 
referred  to,  'We  might  be  stricken  down  at  first,  but 
not  defeated.'  In  the  darkest  hours  of  our  Territo 
rial  history,  when  the  black  cloud  enveloped  the  whole 
horizon,  and  our  people  were  driven  with  violence 
from  the  Territory,  and  the  air  was  filled  with  smoke 
from  burning  dwellings,  the  earth  was  wet  with 
human  gore,  and  the  dead  and  dying  blocked  up  the 


GOVERNOE   WALKER  47 

road — though  a  prisoner,  charged  with  an  infamous 
crime,  and  denied  all  intercourse  with  the  outer 
world;  yet  never  for  a  moment  did  we  despond. 
Through  all  the  clouds  and  darkness  we  saw  a  brighter 
day,  and  rejoiced  at  the  prospect  of  peace,  the  tri 
umph  of  the  right,  and  the  restoration  of  order. 

"Political  sunlight  gradually  dawned.  The  clouds 
did  not  recede  at  once ;  but  one  by  one  they  sank  below 
the  horizon.  With  an  abiding  faith  in  the  wisdom  of 
Providence,  a  firm  reliance  on  His  interposition  to 
secure  the  triumph  of  justice,  we  have  waited  and 
watched  the  development  of  affairs.  Though  but  one 
year  has  intervened,  how  different  the  aspect  of  the 
country  to-day  from  what  it  was  at  that  period.  Now 
peace  and  tranquility  reign  on  every  hand.  Others 
may  prognosticate  evil,  and  tell  us  it  is  the  quiet 
which  precedes  the  storm,  yet  the  calm  observer 
knows  such  is  not  the  case.  Our  civil  rights  are  now 
within  our  reach,  and  nothing  but  impolitic  action  or 
'masterly  inactivity'  can  defeat  us. 

"  With  a  population  of  twenty  for  freedom  to  one 
against  it,  we  must  go  to  work.  We  must  work 
unitedly  and  effectually.  We  must  work  to  triumph, 
and  if  we  cannot  have  the  selection  of  implements  for 
working  our  disenthrallment,  we  must  use  those  of 
the  enemy.  Never,  save  in  Kansas,  have  we  known  a 
people  too  fastideous  to  use  the  arms  of  an  enemy  to 
work  their  liberation  from  slavery.  The  Israelites 
did  not  hesitate  to  borrow  the  wealth  of  their  oppres 
sors  to  aid  in  working  their  way  from  Egyptian  bond 
age.  The  fathers  of  the  revolution  did  not  stand  on 
etiquette  at  Bunker  Hill,  Saratoga  or  Yorktown,  when 
striking  for  independence.  But  we  in  Kansas  have 
allowed  the  enemy  to  coil  his  chain,  link  after  link, 
around  us;  and  we,  with  the  dignity  of  injured  inno 
cence,  have  stood  quiet  and  watched  the  progress  of 
the  work,  until  now  the  few  last  links  are  being  laid, 
and  the  rivet  is  being  prepared  which  shall  fasten  the 
work  and  leave  us  forever  in  his  power. 


48  REMINISCENCES   OF 

•'Freemen  of  Kansas!  Do  you  not  see  the  progress 
of  the  enslaver?  The  last  hope  is  dying  out!  Another 
period  lost,  and  we  are  lost — irrevocably  lost. 

"  While  the  enemy  has  been  at  work,  employing 
every  artifice  his  ingenuity  could  invent,  to  perfect  his 
work  of  crushing  us,  we  have  been  hugging  a  delusive 
phantom  to  our  bosoms — a  phantom  which  has  exhaus 
ted  our  best  efforts  to  enf use  life  into  it,  and  yet  it  is 
a  phantom.  [  Alluding  to  the  Topeka  Constitution.  ] 

"The  opportunity  which,  if  improved,  would  have 
given  us  a  controlling  influence  in  the  Constitutional 
Convention  has  been  allowed  to  pass.  Such  was  the 
decree  of  the  Topeka  Convention  of  March  last.  It 
was  political  heterodoxy  to  oppose  its  action.  No  Con 
vention  now  binds  our  hands;  and  we  wish  to  be 
understood  as  laying  down  a  platform  upon  which  we 
are  going  to  stand,  unless  it  is  manifestly  the  will  of  a 
majority  of  the  Free  State  party  to  occupy  other 
grounds.  In  that  case  we  shall  sacrifice  our  private 
convictions  to  secure  harmonius  action. 

"  Our  policy  is  this : 

"  First — If  the  Lecompton  Constitution  shall  be 
submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  people,  whether  to  those 
who  are  registered,  or  those  who  have  been  here  three 
months,  or  six  months,  or  any  other  period,  we  must 
vote,  and  vote  it  down.  It  matters  not  what  the  char 
acter  of  that  Constitution  may  be.  Though  it  is  the 
Topeka  Constitution  itself,  or  one  which  is  entirely 
unexceptionable,  it  is  an  exotic,  foreign  to  our  soil, 
imposed  upon  us  by  fraud,  and  it  must  be  voted  down. 

"  Second — Though  the  Constitution  is  not  submitted 
to  a  vote  of  the  people,  or  any  part  of  them,  we  must 
take  possession  of  it,  and  elect  every  officer,  executive, 
legislative,  and  judical,  under  it;  and  although  we 
cannot  produce  an  abortion,  we  can  strangle  it  at  its 
birth,  by  getting  possession  of  the  monster  when  it 
begins  to  give  evidence  of  life.  Thus  we  can  defeat 
our  enemies  in  their  scheme  to  trade  off  the  freedom 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  49 

of  Kansas  to  secure  the  admission  of  Minnesota  into 
the  Union. 

"  Third — We  must  elect  a  Territorial  delegate  to 
Congress,  by  claiming  the  application  of  the  organic 
act  to  the  election  of  that  officer;  and  if  this  privilege 
is  denied  us,  we  must  adopt  the  advice  of  a  father  to 
his  son:  'Labor  to  get  rich,  honestly  if  you  can,  but  by 
all  means  get  rich.'  Not  that  we  advise  dishonest 
means;  but  we  must  vote  under  bogus  authority,  if 
we  cannot  otherwise.  At  all  events,  we  must  elect  the 
next  delegate  to  Congress,  and  he  must  be  a  sterling 
man;  one  who  has  not  been  mixed  up  to  too  great  an 
extent  with  our  past  troubles,  but,  nevertheless,  one 
who  is  sufficiently  known  to  the  country  to  ensure  a 
harmonious  vote  in  his  favor. 

"Fourth— We  must  elect  the  next  Territorial  Leg 
islature — not  a  part  of  it,  but  the  whole.  We  have 
numbers  sufficient  to  secure  such  a  result  in  every 
election  district,  and  will  have  hundreds  to  spare.  To 
make  the  moral  effect  as  complete  as  possible,  it  will 
be  policy  for  all  to  vote,  and  thus  secure  the  next 
Legislature  in  our  own  hands.  This  done,  the  whole 
bogus  statutes  should  be  erased  by  one  act  of  th<e 
Legislature,  and  if  vetoed  by  the  Governor,  it  should 
be  passed  over  his  veto.  Then  a  wise  code  of  laws, 
such  as  is  suited  to  our  condition,  should  be  passed, 
and  then  will  commence  our  prosperity. 

"Fifth — Congress  should  be  petitioned  for  large 
grants  of  lands,  which  would  place  us  on  an  equality 
with  the  most  favored  of  the  Territories.  While  we 
can  draw  nourishment  from  Uncle  Sam  to  keep  our 
government  alive,  we  should  continue  our  Territorial 
existence,  and  only  seek  to  throw  off  our  swaddling 
clothes,  in  time  to  entitle  us  to  vote  in  1860,  for 
Presidential  electors. 

"Sixth— The  Topeka  Constitution,  which  was  only 
brought  forward  as  a  means  to  enable  Congress  to 
help  us  out  of  our  unpleasant  position,  having  been 
virtually  twice  rejected  by  that  body,  will  be  allowed 


50  REMINISCENCES    OF 

to  go  by  default,  without  wasting  further  time  or 
money  trying  to  give  it  a  galvanic  life,  lasting  only 
while  the  wires  are  in  direct  contact  with  it. 

# '  #  *  *  *  # 

"Thus  much  for  our  position.  Without  caring 
what  the  opinions  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  or  the 
corps  of  Eastern  correspondents  may  be  in  regard  to 
it,  we  submit  the  whole  to  the  honest  consideration  of 
the  actual  settlers  of  Kansas,  and  trust  they  will  give 
it  their  impartial  consideration.  Our  policy  may  not 
be  the  best,  but  we  believe  it  the  only  one  which  will 
ensure  the  freedom  of  Kansas." 

The  publication  of  this  leader,  which  contemplated 
a  solution  of  our  difficulties  through  a  resort  to  the 
PEACEFUL  ballot,  and  not  by  forcible  resistance, 
aroused  the  animosity  of  the  letter  writers  against  the 
Herald  of  freedom  as  never  before.  From  that  time 
forward,  misrepresentation,  calumny,  and  every 
species  of  vituperation,  which  Bohemian  ingenuity 
and  malice  could  invent  were  employed  to  crush 
the  paper  and  its  editor.  No  falsehood  was  too  base 
to  publish,  no  slander  was  too  villainous  to  repeat, 
and  as  we  look  back  through  the  long  years  since 
then,  we  confess  a  feeling  of  indignation  that  men  so 
wholly  destitute  of  truth  or  honorable  impulses  should 
have  been  allowed  by  respectable  Eastern  journalists? 
to  transcend  their  vocation,  to  falsify  and  belittle 
those  who  were  infinitely  their  superiors  in  every 
thing  that  constituted  genuine  merit.* 

*To  illustrate  the  feelings  of  others  in  regard  to  our  abuse  by 
the  letter-writers,  we  quote  from  that  sterling  Free  State  paper,  a 
take-off,  by  Sol  Miller,  of  the  White  Cloud  Chief: 

"  We  think  certain  Eastern  journals  and  some  in  Kansas,  that 
profess  to  have  much  concern  for  the  welfare  of  the  Territory, 
might  do  her  far  more  service,  if  they  would  pay  a  little  more 


GOVERNOR  WALKER.  51 

Referring  to  those  slanders,  and  our  position,  in  an 
editorial  of  date  August  1,  1857,  replying  to  the  N. 
H.  Sentinel,  we  said: 

"  We  know  our  position  is  approved  by  a  very  large 
number  of  leading  Republicans  in  the  States,  and  a 
great  majority  of  the  Free  State  settlers  in  the  Terri 
tory.  It  is  a  policy  which  will  relieve  us  from  our 
present  difficulties,  without  resort  to  revolution,  and 
will  give  freedom  to  Kansas,  and  all  that  unoccupied 
public  domain  lying  north  and  west  of  us  to  the 
Pacific.  With  this  knowledge  we  can  afford  to  be 
misrepresented,  slandered,  anything,  so  we  secure  our 
aspirations  in  coming  to  Kansas." 

The  great  mass  of  people  were  with  us  at  the  out 
set,  and  many  of  the  public  leaders  occupied  the  same 
position,  among  whom  I  note  with  pleasure,  Gov. 
OHAS.  ROBINSON,  though  for  reasons  which  will  after 
ward  appear,  this  was  not  known  to  the  writer  at  the 

attention  to  her  real  interests,  and  not  quite  so  much  to  retailing 
silly  stuff  about  G.  W.  BROWN,  of  the  Herald  of  Freedom.  There 
are  correspondents  of  the  St.  Louis  Democrat,  Chicago  Tribune, 
New  York  Tribune,  and  other  Tribunes,  whose  main  object, 
judging  from  their  letters,  seems  to  be  to  bark  at  Brown,  who  can 
not  blow  his  nose,  spit  on  the  sidewalk,  or  accidentally  tread  on  a 
cat's  tail,  without  they  immediately  post  it  off  by  express  to  their 
respective  journals,  as  "Another  Contemptible  act  of  'Gusty- 
Windy'  Brown,"  or  something  of  that  sort.  And  there  are  papers 
in  the  Territory  silly  enough  to  peddle  out  this  trash  here.  What 
is  the  object  of  this?  In  what  way  does  it  aftect  the  cause  of  Free 
Kansas,  whether  Brown  eats  onions  for  supper,  wipes  his  nose  on 
his  coat  sleeve,  or  wears  a  shirt  six  weeks  without  washing?  To 
read  some  of  the  papers,  one  would  think  Brown's  legs  were  a 
pro-slavery  infernal  machine,  and  that  the  seat  of  some  obscure 
person's  breeches  were  the  nest  wherein  the  Bird  of  Freedom  has 
deposited  her  eggs,  and  that  if  the  former  came  in  contact  with  the 
latter  a  general  smash-up  of  human  liberty  would  ensue.  Come, 
gentlemen,  can't  you  be  prevailed  upon  to  'Don't.' " 


52  REMINISCENCES   OF 

time,  Gen.  S.  C.  Pomeroy,  Judge  P.  C.  Schuyler, 
Hon.  G.  W.  Smith,  C.  K.  Holliday,  Marcus  J.  Parrott, 
Joel  K.  Goodin,  Gen.  Thomas  Ewing,  C.  V.  Eskridge, 
S.  N.  Wood,  Dr.  Jas.  Davis,  in  short,  a  very  large 
majority  of  the  leading,  influential  and  substantial 
citizens  of  the  Territory.  Of  those  known  to  the 
public  who  violently  opposed  this  program,  until  it 
was  adopted  by  the  Free  State  party,  in  convention 
at  Grasshopper  Falls,  in  August  after,  of  which  I 
shall  have  occasion  to  mention  at  greater  length,  as 
we  advance,  were  P.  B.  Plumb,  T.  D.  Thacher,  Wm, 
A.  Phillips,  Martin  F.  Conway,  Eichard  Eealf,  John 
E.  Cook,  E.  J.  Hinton,  Jas.  Eedpath,  and  the  whole 
herd  of  professional  letter-writers.  Of  Gen.  Jas. 
H.  Lane,  it  is  due  to  truth  to  state,  that  he  opposed 
the  "voting  policy"  as  it  was  called,  until  after  his- 
arrival  at  Grasshopper  Falls,  when  he  surprised 
everybody,  friends  and  foas  alike,  to  the  great  chagrin 
of  the  former,  by  making  a  speech  advocating  the 
measure.  His  opposers  ascribed  the  sudden  revolu 
tion  in  feeling  and  expression  to  the  fact  that  he  had 
an  earnest  desire  to  be  on  the  winning  side.  Perhaps- 
it  is  just  to  say  of  these  "lunatics,"  as  an  Eastern 
journalist  very  felicitiously  termed  those  who  were 
opposed  to  voting,  as  soon  as  the  party  decided  to 
participate  in  the  election  they  were  the  first  to 
demand  the  public  offices.  As  the  years  have  gone, 
two  of  these  "lunatics*'  have  suicided,  two  have  died  on 
the  gallows,  some  have  lingered  for  years,  and  others 
have  died  in  insane  asylums,  one  is  still  connected 
with  the  public  press,  while — most  lamentable  of  all 
— two  have  been  elected  to  Congress,  and  three  others- 
to  the  United  States  Senate. 


IX. 


Gov.  Walker  in  a  Rage. 

TTtHE  INDEPENDENT  charter  of  the  city  of 
wJLfe  Lawrence,  which  originated  with  a  few  "uneasy 
politicians,"  and  which  was  generally  repudiated  by 
the  citizens  as  an  illegitimate  bantling,  elected  officers 
under  it  on  the  13th  of  July,  the  charter  itself  hav 
ing  been  adopted  on  the  8th,  less  than  one- third  of 
the  voters  in  the  city  participating  in  the  election. 

On  the  morning  of  the  election  for  officers  under 
the  organization,  Gov.  Walker,  in  an  army  ambulance, 
accompanied  by  Lieut.  Carr,  of  the  United  States 
army,  arrived  in  Lawrence.  The  Lieutenant,  who 
acted  in  the  capacity  of  Aid  to  the  Governor,  called 
at  the  Herald  of  Freedom  office,  and  stated  that  the 
Governor  wished  to  see  the  editor  in  his  private  room 
at  the  Morrow  House.  The  writer  was  conducted  to 
the  Governor's  room  on  the  second  floor  in  that  cara 
vansary,  and  was  received  with  much  warmth  by  his 
Excellency,  Lieut.  Carr  retiring.  After  being  seated 
Gov.  Walker  began  recounting  a  series  of  grievances 
against  the  Free  State  party.  He  said  the  Topeka 
party,  late  in  session  in  a  legislative  capacity,  had 
attempted  to  pass  a  code  of  laws,  and  put  them  in 
force  in  opposition  to  the  Territorial  laws,  and  to 
their  exclusion;  that  the  more  conservative  of  that 
body  had  opposed  such  measures;  then  an  effort  was 
made  to  organize  counties  and  cities;  that  scheme 


54  REMINISCENCES   OF 

also  failed  as  a  legislative  measure;  but  the  people 
were  advised  to  organize  cities  and  counties,  inde- 
dendent  of  any  legislative  action ;  in  short  were  to  do- 
in  detail  what  they  dare  not  attempt  as  a  whole;  then 
with  the  machinery  of  government  in  operation  in  the 
principal  localities  of  the  Territory;  they  could  set  in 
motion  their  State  machinery  and  run  out  the  Terri 
torial  government.  In  furtherance  of  this  movement 
he  said  Gen.  Lane  had  asked  for  authority  to  organ 
ize  the  Free  State  men  in  military  companies,  osten 
sibly  to  protect  the  ballot-box,  but  his  object  was 
clearly  to  expel  the  Territorial  government,  and  set  in 
force,  in  defiance  of  law,  the  Topeka  government. 

The  Governor  seemed  considerably  excited  while 
making  his  narration;  called  the  acts  "incipient  rebel 
lion,"  and  said  the  thing  must  be  put  down.  While 
he  was  yet  talking,  a  young  man  entered  the  room,  a 
stranger  to  the  writer,  who  walked  back  and  forth, 
evidently  taking  in  the  whole  conversation.  Gov. 
Walker  seemed  greatly  nettled  for  a  time,  then  sprang 
to  his  feet  in  great  anger,  and  said : 

"Mr.  Brown,  I  have  never  come  to  this  house  since 
arriving  in  the  Territory,  but  there  have  been  spies 
upon  my  every  movement.  I  feel  perfectly  outraged 
that  I  cannot  talk  with  a  friend  without  being  sub 
jected  to  such  insolent  surveillance.  Go  back  to  your 
office,  and  when  I  wish  to  see  you  again,  I  will  call 
upon  you  at  your  own  rooms.  The  people  of  Law 
rence  will  have  occasion  to  regret  this  insult." 

I  tried  to  interrupt  the  Governor,  and  to  explain 
the  condition  of  things,  and  show  him  that  he  was 
misinformed  in  regard  to  the  action  at  Topeka,  and 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  55 

that  the  municipal  movement  was  not  an  expression 
of  the  popular  will ;  that  Mr.  Morrow,  the  proprietor 
of  the  hotel,  was  perfectly  ignorant  of  the  insults  he 
was  receiving,  but  he  cut  me  short,  and,  in  a  com 
manding  tone  and  manner,  bade  me  go  away  at  once. 
Not  wishing  to  increase  the  storm,  I  obeyed,  and  from 
the  door  of  the  Herald  of  .Freedom  building,  a  few 
minutes  after,  saw  Lieut.  Carr  drive  in  front  of  the 
hotel  with  an  ambulance,  the  Governor  enter,  and 
start  towards  Leavenworth. 


CHAPTER  X. 


An  Army  Marching  on  Lawrence. 
NEXT  thing  we  hear  of  Gov.  Walker  was 
on  the  following  Thursday,  the  16th  of  July, 
when  a  messenger  arrived  from  Leavenworth,  stating 
that  Gov.  Walker  and  a  regiment  of  United  States 
troops,  with  a  battery,  were  moving  on  the  town  from 
the  fort,  and  would  reach  us  on  the  next  day;  that  he 
had  issued  a  proclamation  directed  to  the  people  of 
Lawrence ;  its  character  was  not  well  understood. 

A  meeting  of  the  citizens  was  convened  in  front  of 
the  Morrow  House  that  evening,  when  the  matter  was 
discussed,  and  a  committee  of  five  were  appointed, 
consisting  of  G.  W.  Collamore.  G.  W.  Brown,  E.  A. 
Coleman,  A.  H.  Mallory  and  Charles  Stearns,  to  wait 
on  the  Governor,  and  inquire  of  him  if  the  proclama 
tion  was  genuine,  and  his  object  in  invading  the  city 
with  a  military  force. 

Friday  morning  the  committee  held  a  meeting. 
Messrs.  Collamore  and  Brown  were  instructed  to  wait 
011  the  Governor,  on  his  arrival,  and  learn  when  it 
would  be  convenient  for  him  to  receive  the  Com 
mittee. 

The  Governor,  with  his  troops,  crossed  the  river 
011  the  ferry,  and  passed  through  town,  while  the 
Committee  were  in  a  little  controversy  over  some 
trifling  matter  of  etiquette,  Mr.  Stearns  being  over 
ruled  in  the  premises.  Mr.  C.  and  myself  followed 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  57 

the  troops,  and  found  them  erecting  tents  on  the 
prairie,  about  one-half  mile  west  of  the  town.  The 
Governor  received  us  very  politely,  invited  us  to  seats 
in  his  ambulance,  and  voluntarily  gave  us  the  reason 
for  his  movement.  We  endeavored  to  disabuse  his 
mind  of  the  false  impressions  he  had  formed;  assured 
him  that  the  charter  movement  was  the  action  of  an 
irresponsible  faction,  which  we  had  been  resisting  as 
illegal  and  outside  of  law;  that  it  was  merely  boy's 
play,  and  was  so  regarded  by  all  our  better  citizens, 
though  the  instigators  of  the  movement  had  used  the 
names  of  several  of  our  prominent  citizens  as  officers, 
merely  to  give  it  the  appearance  of  respectability; 
that  he  might  as  well  hold  the  people  responsible  for 
the  action  of  a  moot  Legislature,  as  for  such  a  body, 
and  their  doings. 

The  Governor  thanked  us  for  the  call,  expressed 
regret  that  he  had  taken  such  hasty  action,  said,  if  in 
his  interview  with  Mr.  Brown  on  Monday  morning  he 
had  not  been  outraged  and  insulted  by  a  system  of 
espionage,  which  always  angered  him,  he  should  not 
have  acted  so  unwisely.  We  told  him  the  object  of 
our  visit,  and  wished  to  know  when  he  would  give  the 
committee  a  formal  hearing.  He  named  five  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon. 

The  committee,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Stearns, 
who  declined  to  act,  met  Gov.  Walker  at  the  hour  des 
ignated,  and  the  same  subject  was  again  canvassed, 
but  not  so  fully  or  freely  as  at  the  informal 
meeting. 

Gen.  Lane  and  Gov.  Eobinson  came  down  from 
Topeka  while  Mr.  Collamore  and  myself  were  with 


58  REMINISCENCES  OF 

the  Governor.  Mr.  Stearns,  a  disunion  abolitionist 
of  the  Garrison  school,  made  a  prejudiced  report  to 
these  leaders,  of  what  the  committee  proposed  to  do. 
Another  meeting  was  hastily  called  in  the  street,  a 
shameful  misrepresentation  of  facts  was  made,  and 
the  committee  and  their  acts  were  repudiated.  A 
negro  messenger  on  horseback  met  us  on  our  way  to 
town  from  the  camp,  who  handed  us  the  repudiating 
resolutions.  Mr.  Collamore,  afterwards  mayor  of  the 
city,  and  a  victim  of  the  murderous  Quantrell  Raid 
in  August  of  1863,  was  greatly  outraged  at  Gen.  Lane 
because  of  this  petty  insult.  The  committee,  never 
theless,  discharged  their  duty  faithfully;  reported 
their  interview  with  the  Governor  in  writing,  to  an 
adjourned  meeting  of  the  citizens  on  Saturday  even 
ing,  and  received  the  thanks  of  the  people  for  their 
action. 

Capt.  Samuel  Walker,  one  of  the  bravest  and  most 
trusty  of  our  Free  State  leaders,  informed  the  writer 
that  as  Mr.  Collamore  and  myself  left  camp,  at  the 
informal  interview,  he  entered  it,  and  met  Gov. 
Walker,  who  grasped  his  hand  and  arm  with  both 
hands,  and  said:  "Captain,  I  have  acted  hastily  and 
unadvisedly  in  bringing  these  troops  here.  You  must 
aid  me  in  getting  out  of  this  difficulty." 

The  proclamation  was  a  bombastic  document, 
wholly  unworthy  the  head  and  heart  of  so  distin 
guished  a  gentleman  as  Gov.  Walker.  Reading  it 
over  as  we  write,  we  do  not  wonder  the  letter-writers 
made  mirth  of  it,  or  that  a  fictitious  proclamation 
was  issued,  filled  with  "blood  and  thunder."  How 
the  Governor  could  wade  through  nearly  two  columns 
of  a  newspaper,  "imploring  the  people  to  not  compel 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  59 

him  to  use  the  military  power,"  and  "adjuring  them 
to  abandon  their  unlawful  proceedings  before  involv 
ing  themselves  in  the  crime  of  treason,"  is  certainly 
unaccountable  on  any  other  hypothesis  than  that  he 
was  simply  "luny"  when  he  wrote  it.  I  make  the  fol 
lowing  extract  from  a  letter  of  his,  written  at  Leaven- 
worth,  before  marching  on  Lawrence,  addressed  to  the 
Secretary  of  State  at  Washington,  quoted  by  Presi 
dent  Buchanan  in  a  special  message  to  Congress  on 
Kansas  affairs,  dated  Feb.  2,  1858: 

"The  movement  at  Lawrence  was  the  beginning  of  a 
plan  originating  in  that  city ;  to  organize  an  insurrec 
tion  throughout  the  Territory,  and  especially  in  all 
the  towns,  cities  and  counties  where  the  Republican 
party  have  a  majority.  Lawrence  is  the  hot-bed  of 
all  abolition  movements  in  this  Territory.  It  is  the 
idea  established  by  the  Abolition  societies  of  the 
East,  and  whilst  there  are  a  number  of  respectable 
people  there,  it  is  filled  by  a  considerable  number  of 
mercenaries,  who  are  paid  by  the  Abolition  societies 
to  perpetuate  and  diffuse  agitation  throughout  Kan 
sas,  and  prevent  the  peaceful  settlement  of  this  ques 
tion.  Having  failed  in  inducing  their  now  so-called 
Topeka  State  Legislature  to  organize  this  insurrec 
tion,  Lawrence  has  commenced  it  herself,  and  if  not 
arrested,  rebellion  will  extend  throughout  the  Terri 
tory.  *  *  The  continued  presence  of  Gen.  Harney 
is  indispensable,  as  was  originally  stipulated  by  me, 
with  a  large  body  of  dragoons  and  several  batteries." 

In  an  editorial  published  by  us,  with  the  proclama 
tion,  and  immediately  following  it,  we  said : 

"We  regret  this  act  on  the  part  of  Gov.  Walker,  as 
its  tendency  is  to  inflame  the  people  at  a  time  when 
all  parties  should  be  laboring  to  establish  an  era  of 
peace.  We  have  no  sympathy  with  the  independent 
city  organization,  as  was  indicated  in  our  last  number, 


60  REMINISCENCES   OF 

and  greatly  regretted  it,  as  we  were  apprehensive  it- 
would  bring  upon  us  just  what  seems  rapidly  approach 
ing.  While  we  take  exceptions  to  that  movement,  we 
also  take  exceptions  to  Gov.  Walker  bringing  the 
military  to  Lawrence.  If  he  had  legal  process  to 
serve,  it  should  have  been  served  by  United  States 
authority,  and  no  man  in  Lawrence  or  out  of  it,  would 
have  resisted.  Our  people — all  of  them,  the  extrem 
ists  included — know  too  well  that  Uncle  Sam's  author 
ity  is  not  to  be  opposed  with  impunity. 

"Gov.  Walker  may  send  troops  here,  and  may  arrest 
those  connected  with  the  organization  of  the  City 
Government.  This  is  all  he  can  accomplish.  There 
will  be  no  resistance,  hence  no  bloodshed.  Matters 
will  move  011  quietly,  and  the  agitators  on  either  side 
will  not  be  able  to  get  up  a  serious  collision. 

"We  hope  Gov.  Walker  will  not  allow  bad  counsels 
to  govern  him  in  this  crisis.  He  is  surrounded  by 
men  who  desire  to  drive  our  people  into  extreme 
measures;  but  we  are  conscious  the  Free  State  party 
is  occupying  high  vantage  ground,  and  we  shall  not 
be  driven  from  it,  by  sustaining  extreme  measures  oil 
the  one  hand  or  resisting  federal  authority  on  the 
other.  The  policy  of  our  people  and  Gov.  Walker  is 
identical,  as  shadowred  in  his  speech  at  Topeka.  the 
first,  to  preserve  the  quiet  of  the  Territory,  'peace 
ably  if  we  can,  but  at  all  events  to  preserve  the  gen 
eral  quiet;'  secondly,  for  the  people  to  get  the  Terri 
torial  government  into  their  own  hands,  and  adminis 
ter  it  for  the  benefit  of  the  actual  residents. 

"This  being  the  case,  it  is  the  interest  of  Gov, 
Walker  as  well  as  the  people,  to  keep  agitating  ques 
tions  out  of  sight,  and  avoid  every  movement  which 
tends  to  acerbation  on  either  hand.  The  bringing  of 
troops  to  Lawrence  cannot  be  viewed  in  any  other 
light  than  to  overawe  and  intimidate  the  people, 
and  induce  them  to  acquiesce  in  the  plans  of  the  Gov 
ernor.  He  may  succeed  in  convincing  the  South,  that 
he  is  true  to  his  first  love,  but  he  cannot  succeed  in 


GOVERNOR   WALKER  61 

subjugating  the  people  of  Lawrence,  or  of  the  Ter 
ritory." 


CHAJPTER  XT. 

Danger  Averted. 

PEOPLE  of  Lawrence  and  the  whole  coun- 
try  were  greatly  excited  over  Gov.  Walker's 
movement  with  the  troops.  Every  sort  of  wild  rumor 
immediately  filled  the  air,  and  was  sent  to  the  States 
by  letters  and  telegrams.  Hardly  an  hour  passed  but 
parties  were  calling  on  the  editor  of  the  Herald  of 
Freedom  for  explanation  of  the  affair.  Those  who 
had  been  so  violent  in  their  denunciations  of  the 
paper  and  its  editor  were  still  more  denunciatory,  and 
Eastern  papers  joined  in  the  "hue  and  cry''  until  the 
very  atmosphere  seemed  hazed  with  their  bitterness. 
A  few  silly  patrons  in  the  States  sent  back  their 
papers  with  insulting  indorsements  upon  them.  The 
Free  State  papers  which  had  opposed  Gov.  Walker 
from  the  beginning  renewed  their  hostility  and  violent 
abuse  of  that  functionary.  The  Governor  became 
enraged,  and  threats  of  vengeance  were  reported  as 
coming  from  him.  I  became  alarmed  myself,  fearful 
that  the  calumnious  charges  against  the  Governor 
and  his  friends,  would  defeat  all  our  hopes.  Filled 
with  these  emotions,  and  recalling  my  first  interview 
with  him,  I  wrote  the  following,  and  passed  a  copy  of 
it  to  the  printers  to  put  in  type,  reserving  the 
original  for  my  own  use.  Telling  my  associate  editor, 
Mr.  Wattles,  my  purpose  to  visit  the  military  camp, 
I  took  my  way  there  alone. 

Entering  Col.  Cook's   camp,   and   learning  which 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  63 

was  the  Governor's  tent.  I  made  my  way  to  it.  Gov 
ernor  Walker  came  out  of  the  tent  as  I  neared  it,  and, 
unlike  his  usual  cordiality  and  open  hand,  with  a 
generous  warmth  of  expression,  extended  only  his 
index  finger.  I  received  it  with  a  full  hand,  announced 
my  business  to  read  him  an  editorial,  already  in  type 
for  the  next  number  of  my  paper,  in  regard  to  him. 
He  thanked  me  for  calling,  brought  camp  stools  from 
the  tent,  and  we  took  seats  near  the  front  of  the  tent. 
I  then  read  him  the  following,  published  verbatim  as 
written,  in  my  issue  of  August  1st,  headed: 

"LiES  NAILED. — It  is  false  that  Gov.  Walker  has 
said  he  will  interfere  with  the  election  of  State  officers, 
under  the  Topeka  Constitution  on  Monday  next.  On 
the  contrary,  he  has  repeatedly  stated  he  would  not 
forcibly  interfere  with  the  carrying  out  of  measures 
for  the  preservation  of  the  State  organization,  so  far 
as  contemplates  an  application  to  Congress  for  admis 
sion  into  the  Union  under  the  Constitution. 

"It  is  false  that  Gov.  Walker  has  declared  it  his 
intention  to  call  upon  Missouri  for  volunteers  to  aid 
him  in  any  event  in  his  Kansas  mission.  He  has 
always  said  if  military  power  is  required  to  preserve 
the  peace  of  the  Territory,  he  would  call  to  his  aid  the 
United  States  troops,  which  are,  or  may  be  subject  to 
his  orders. 

"  It  is  false  that  the  Governor  brought  the  troops 
to  Lawrence,  with  a  view  to  the  collection  of  taxes; 
on  the  contrary,  his  object  was  expressed  in  his  proc 
lamation,  which  we  published  last  week,  which  all 
men  can  read  at  their  leisure. 

"It  is  false  that  Gov.  Walker  has  at  any  time 
stated  that  the  voters  in  the  election  of  October  next 
will  be  limited  to  those  who  were  registered  under  the 
last  census  act.  He  has  declared  repeatedly  that  no 
such  legislation  shall  be  imposed  upon  voters;  and 
this  he  asserted  publicly  in  his  speech  at  Big  Springs, 


64  REMINISCENCES   OF 

in  June  last,  in  reply  to  interrogatories  propounded 
to  him  at  that  time. 

<k  It  is  false  that  the  Governor  brought  the  troops 
to  Lawrence  with  the  view  of  embroiling  the  people, 
and  demolishing  the  town;  on  the  contrary,  he  will 
labor  to  prevent  sruch  a  catastrophe,  having  in  view 
only  the  arrest  of  the  officers  under  the  municipal 
organization,  should  they  proceed  to  complete  the 
organization  under  the  independent  charter. 

"  It  is  true  Gov.  Walker  has  declared  to  all  persons 
with  whom  he  has  discoursed  on  the  subject,  that  he 
will  preserve  the  quiet  of  the  Territory  at  whatever 
cost;  and  will  call  the  entire  force  of  the  United 
States  troops  at  his  command,  to  aid  in  preventing  a 
reign  of  terror  in  Kansas,  if  their  services  are  nec 
essary." 

The  Governor  listened  attentively  until  I  reached 
the  conclusion,  when,  taking  the  manuscript  in  his 
hand  and  glancing  over  it,  he  said :  "  All  very  well, 
Mr.  Brown,  but  you  will  have  to  amend  the  third 
paragraph  by  inserting  after  'taxes,'  'but  circumstan 
ces  have  occurred  since  his  arrival  here  which  render 
it  probable  he  ivill  employ  them  in  this  direction." 
He  then  went  on  to  say  that  the  Sheriff  had  only  a 
few  days  before  called  on  Wm.  Jesse,  at  Bloomington, 
to  assess  taxes;  that  Jesse  caught  a  carpenter's  adz 
near  him,  and  ran  the  Sheriff  off  his  premises.  "The 
Sheriff  has  called  on  me  for  troops  to  aid  him,  and  I 
see  no  other  way  than  to  furnish  them." 

"Governor,  that  would  be  in  violation  of  your 
agreement  made  with  me  at  our  first  interview.  You 
said,  as  you  will  well  recollect,  that  you  would  refuse 
to  aid  in  the  collection  of  taxes  until  after  the  October 
election,  in  consideration  of  the  people  participating 
in  the  Territorial  elections.  This  editorial  was  writ- 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  65 

ten,  predicated  on  that  agreement,  and  I  cannot  con 
sent  to  alter  it  in  a  single  word." 

"Then  it  will  not  agree  with  the  facts." 
"I  give  the  article  based  upon  your  solemn  agree 
ment.  If  you  have  changed  your  purpose  it  is  not  to 
be  presumed  I  know  anything  about  it.  If  you 
act  differently  from  what  you  promised,  I  shall  tell 
my  readers  of  the  pledge  you  made  me  at  our  first 
interview;  that  in  consequence  of  that  pledge  I  have 
thus  far  sustained  Gov.  Walker's  policy;  that  as  he 
has  broken  faith  with  me  I  am  no  longer  under  obli 
gations  to  him,  and  that  I  cannot  sustain  his  adminis 
tration  any  farther.  You  know  the  fact,  Governor, 
that  I  had  over  8,000  subscribers  to  my  paper  when 
I  commenced  endorsing  you.  I  have  lost  a  good 
many  subscribers  because  of  that  support.  Life-long 
friends,  whom  I  esteemed  highly,  have  listened  to  the 
falsehoods  of  your  enemies,  and  have  arrayed  them 
selves  against  me.  If,  however,  you  do  as  you  prom 
ised,  the  result  will  be  satisfactory;  the  people  will 
see  that  I  was  right,  and  that  those  who  opposed  me 
were  wrong,  and  all  will  be  well  in  the  end;  but  if  you 
go  back  on  your  promises,  I  shall  put  myself  right 
before  the  public  by  showing  that  it  is  you  who  have 
broken  faith  in  the  premises." 

"  You  can  show  the  public  how  I  have  been  driven 
into  this  measure  by  the  violent  action  of  your  peo 
ple,  and  you  can  set  yourself  right  with  the  public  in 
that  way." 

"Governor,  I  shall  abide  by  my  agreement  with 
you  to  the  letter,  and  if  you  break  it  I  shall  act 
accordingly." 

The  conversation  was  somewhat  lengthy,  but  all  in 


66  REMINISCENCES   OF 

the  direction  indicated.  I  arose,  bade  the  Governor 
good  day,  and  started  on  my  return.  Perhaps  a 
couple  of  rods  away,  he  called  me  back,  bade  Lieu 
tenant  Carr,  who  first  put  in  an  appearance  at  this 
point,  to  bring  out  a  bottle  of  wine  and  two  glasses. 
The  Governor  opened  the  bottle  and  said : 

"Mr.  Brown,  take  a  glass  of  wine  with  me." 

"I  never  drink  wine,  Governor." 

"Never  drink  wine?  Well,  I  take  a  glass  of 
Maderia  occasionally.  What  will  you  take?" 

"  A  glass  of  cold  water,  please,  1  never  take  any 
thing  stronger." 

"You  are  rather  puritanical,  Mr.  Brown." 

Again  the  proposed  change  in  the  editorial  was 
talked  over.  Again  I  answered  him  that  it  would 
appear  as  written;  again  bade  him  good  day,  and 
returned  to  my  office.  The  article  appeared  in  my 
Saturday's  issue  unchanged.  Gov.  Walker  did  not 
employ  the  troops  to  aid  in  the  collection  of  taxes ; 
indeed  there  was  never  any  further  effort  in  that 
direction;  and  thus  another  source  of  danger — that 
threatened  by  Secretary  Stanton  when  he  first  entered 
the  Territory,  and  which  the  pro-slavery  element  had 
labored  so  hard  to  bring  about,  with  the  hope  of 
bringing  on  another  collision  with  the  authorities — 
was  turned  aside. 

When  in  Kansas  in  September,  1880,  I  told  Col. 
Samuel  Walker,  one  of  the  first  Free  State  settlers  in 
the  Territory,  and  now  a  resident  of  Lawrence,  of  this 
interview.  In  giving  the  words  of  the  Governor,  he 
added  to  my  narrative  additional  remarks  of  the  Gov 
ernor.  "True,"  I  replied,  "but  how  did  you  know 
this?" 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  67 

"  I  heard  the  whole  conversation  between  you  and 
the  Governor." 

"Is  that  possible?     Where  were  you?" 

"I  was  in  the  Governor's  tent;  had  called  to  talk 
with  him  on  the  same  subject.  Our  conversation  was 
interrupted  by  your  appearance.  I  was  reclining 
upon  his  lounge,  separated  from  you  by  the  cloth  tent 
only.  After  you  left,  and  the  Governor  entered  the 
tent,  he  said:  'That  Brown  is  a  remarkable  person. 
He  will  not  swerve  a  hair's  breadth  from  his  position. 
He  even  refused  a  glass  of  wine  with  me.'  You  lost 
nothing  in  your  influence  with  the  Governor  by  your 
firmness  to  principle  on  that  occasion."* 

Whatever  may  have  been  Gov.  Walker  "s  real  motive 
in  stationing  ^  regiment  of  United  States  troops  near 
Lawrence ;  thence  to  Fort  Eiley,  on  the  3d  of  August, 
and  back  to  the  vicinity  of  Lecompton,  it  was  clearly 
apparent  that  the  Governor  felt  greatly  annoyed  when 
the  President  ordered  the  return  of  the  troops  to  Fort 
Leaven  worth.  He  left  Lecompton  and  accompanied 
them  to  their  old  quarters,  where  he  remained  for 
several  weeks,  the  report  being  current  that  he  had 
resigned  and  left  the  Territory  in  disgust.  Indeed, 
if  I  remember  rightly,  he  spent  nearly  all  his  time  at 

*Col.  Samuel  Walker,  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  1854  in  the 
vicinity  of  Lawrence,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1823,  and  died 
at  Lawrence  on  February  6,  1893.  He  was  an  active  worker  in 
the  Free  State  ranks;  commanded  a  regiment  in  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion,  served  several  terms  in  the  State  Legislature,  and  was 
always  faithful  to  duty.  He  was  breveted  Brigadier  General  for 
distinguished  services  against  the  Sioux  Indians.  A  letter  from 
the  Colonel,  indorsing  the  above  statements,  will  be  found  in  the 
Appendix. 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


the  Fort  from  then  until  immediately  after  the  Octo 
ber  election. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

Preparing  for  the  Contest. 

(JT  FBEE  STATE  CONVENTION  was  held  at 
ill  Topeka,  on  the  15th  and  16th  of  July,  1857,  to 
nominate  candidates  for  the  offices  under  the 
Topeka  Constitution,  the  term  being  near  the  close 
for  which  the  officers  were  elected  in  1855.  At  this 
July  Convention  the  question  of  participating  in  the 
Territorial  election  in  October  was  discussed  at  con 
siderable  length.  Conventions,  mass  and  delegate, 
were  finally  provided  for,  to  assemble  at  Grasshopper 
Falls,  on  the  last  Wednesday  in  August,  "to  take  such 
action  as  may  be  deemed  necessary  with  regard  to  the 
election."  A  resolution  was  also  adopted,  on  motion 
of  M.  F.  Con  way,  who  was  identified  with  the  "fight 
ing  policy,"  as  it  was  called  in  contradistinction  to 
the  "voting  policy,-'  authorizing  "Gen.  Jas.  H.  Lane 
to  organize  the  people  of  the  Territory  into  military 
districts,  etc.,  to  protect  the  ballot-boxes  at  the 
approaching  election  in  Kansas."  This  resolution  was 
a  favorite  project  of  Gen.  Lane  and  his  endorsers,  at 
the  Convention,  and  as  an  attempt  was  afterwards 
made  on  two  occasions  to  use  the  forces  thus  organ 
ized  for  serious  disturbing  purposes  we  here,  in  pass 
ing,  call  attention  to  the  public  source  of  his  power. 
In  the  interim,  between  the  Topeka  Convention , 
and  the  assembling  at  Grasshopper  Falls,  the  contest 
between  the  opposing  factions  of  the  Free  State  party 


70  REMINISCENCES   OF 

were  more  bitter  than  at  any  other  period.  The  cor 
respondents  of  the  Eastern  press  were  ubiquitous. 
They  forced  themselves  into  every  private  caucus, 
and  attempted  to  control  it  by  their  votes;  then, 
through  their  respective  journals,  denounced  those  of 
opposing  views  in  unmeasured  terms,  who  generally 
triumphed  with  the  people.  We  recall  two  or  three 
of  these  district  conventions — one  at  Centropolis,  on 
the  14th  of  August,  at  which  the  letter- writers  were 
present  in  full  force,  with  a  considerable  number  of 
their  endorsers.  A  dinner — more  properly  a  barbe 
cue — was  furnished  by  the  citizens,  of  which  the  cor 
respondents  participated.  They  then  falsely  reported 
to  their  respective  journals,  that  "Gov.  Walker  con 
tributed  $500  to  get  up  the  dinner.'1  Notwithstand 
ing  their  hostility,  resolutions  were  adopted  by  less 
than  a  dozen  opposing  votes  determining  to  partici 
pate  in  all  future  Territorial  elections.  One  was  held 
at  Judge  Spicer's,  a  few  miles  west  of  Lawrence, 
called  by  the  voting  element.  This  was  taken  posses- 
sion  of  by  their  Free  State  opponents,  and  they  abso 
lutely  elected  Gen.  Maclean,  a  most  violent  pro-sla 
very  leader,  residing  at  Lecompton,  and  afterwards 
known  to  the  country  as  "the  candle-box  conspirator," 
chairman  of  the  meeting.  After  making  a  denunci 
atory  pro-slavery  speech,  Maclean  had  the  good  sense 
to  decline  the  duty.  The  discussion  which  followed 
greatly  revolutionized  the  general  feeling  in  favor  of 
those  who  called  the  convention. 

Large  meetings  were  also  held  at  Willow  Springs; 
at  Eockingham,  in  Pottawatomie  county;  on  South 
Pottawatomie  Creek,  in  Anderson  county;  at  Sugar 


GOVERNOR    WALKER.  71 

Creek,  in  Linn  county;  and,  indeed,  all  over  the  Ter 
ritory,  all  indorsing  the  voting  policy. 

The  general  convention,  at  Grasshopper  Falls,  on 
the  26th  of  August,  was  fully  represented  by  the 
people.  The  mass  convention,  in  which  all  partici 
pated,  was  designed  to  adopt  a  policy  for  the  govern 
ment  of  the  party;  while  the  delegate  convention 
would  nominate  a  candidate  for  delegate  to  Congress, 
in  case  the  mass  convention  deemed  it  advisable  to 
contest  the  Territorial  elections. 

The  men  engaged  in  stirring  up  strife  were  there ; 
but  it  was  soon  apparent  the  people  were  determined 
to  try  the  peaceful  ballot.  They  reasoned  that  if  they 
went  into  the  election  and  were  defeated  by  fraud  or 
by  violence  they  could  go  before  the  country  and  Con 
gress  with  their  grievances,  with  some  hope  of  redress; 
while,  if  they  remained  silent  and  inactive,  the  pro- 
slavery  party  would  elect  their  candidates  for  offices 
again  without  opposition,  probably  using  neither 
fraud  nor  violence,  hence,  because  of  our  apathy  they 
would  have  an  easy  victory;  that  our  friends  in  the 
States  would  be  disgusted  at  our  neglect  to  grasp  the 
favorable  opportunity  when  we  could  have  regained 
our  rights.  M.  R  Conway,  Wm.  A.  Phillips,  P.  B. 
Plumb,  Jas.  Kedpath,  and  T.  D.  Thatcher,  led  the 
opposition  to  the  voting  policy.  Arrayed  against 
them  were  the  substantial  leaders  of  the  Free  State 
party,  among  whom,  well-known  to  the  public,  we 
note  with  pleasure  the  names  of  Chas.  Eobinson,  G. 
W.  Smith,  W.  Y.  Eoberts,  C.  K.  Holliday,  Eobert 
Morrow,  S.  C.  Pomeroy,  F.  A.  Adams,  Dr.  Jas.  Davis, 
P.  C.  Schuyler,  etc.  Gen.  Lane  was  opposed  to  tak 
ing  any  part  in  the  October  elections,  even  declaring 


72  REMINISCENCES   OF       _, 

to  the  committee  on  resolutions,  of  which  he  was  a 
member,  that  it  was  impracticable  to  do  so.  He,  how 
ever,  afterwards  made  an  earnest  speech  in  favor  of 
that  policy.  Gov.  Robinson  spoke  at  considerable 
length  in  favor  of  that  measure.  He  compared  the 
bogus  laws  to  a  battery  which  had  been  playing  with 
shot  and  shell  on  the  Free  State  party.  He  was  in 
favor  of  turning  it  on  our  enemies,  also  making  it 
ineffectual  by  spiking  it.  Characteristic  of  the  oppo 
sition,  a  voice  in  the  crowd  cried  out,  "He  has  sold 
himself  to  Gov.  Walker." 

On  motion  of  the  writer,  the  resolutions  reported 
by  the  business  committee,  in  favor  of  voting,  were 
adopted  by  acclamation.  In  the  reported  proceed 
ings,  I  find  the  following  paragraph: 

"James  Redpath,  from  the  stand,  addressing  G.  W. 
Brown,  said:  'Your  policy  has  prevailed!  You  have 
triumphed!  and  the  people  are  evidently  with  you. 
You  have  been  assailed  from  all  quarters,  but  the  peo 
ple  have  taken  their  position  on  your  platform,  as 
appears  by  the  action  of  this  convention.'  " 

Marcus  J.  Parrott  was  put  in  nomination  as  dele 
gate  to  Congress;  and  after  electing  a  new  Territorial 
Committee,  of  which  the  writer  continued  one,  the 
convention  closed  in  harmony,  having 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  people  of  Kansas,  in  mass 
convention  assembled,  agree  to  participate  in  the 
October  election ;  that  in  thus  acting  we  rely  upon  the 
faithful  fulfilment  of  the  pledges  of  Gov.  Walker; 
and  that  we,  as  heretofore,  protest  against  the  enact 
ments  forced  upon  us  by  the  voters  of  Missouri. 

The  bogus  Legislature,  at  its  last  session,  repealed 
the  law  requiring  a  test  oath  and  a  dollar  tax  to  be 
paid  by  each  voter.  They  also  made  provision  for  the 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  73 

election  of  a  new  legislature ;  requiring  the  Governor 
to  make  an  apportionment  by  the  first  day  of  June. 
Failing  to  do  so,  the  President  of  the  Council,  and 
Speaker  of  the  House  were  required  to  make  such 
apportionment  by  the  middle  of  the  month.  The 
manuscript  laws  were  sent  to  St.  Louis  to  be  printed, 
and  as  the  Governor  never  knew  of  their  provisions 
he  failed  to  comply  with  them,  hence  the  pro-slavery 
heads  of  the  House  and  Council  made  the  apportion 
ment,  and  so  gerrymandered  every  Representative 
and  Council  district  as  to  connect  the  interior  districts 
save  one,  with  a  county  bordering  on  Missouri.  Such 
districts,  however  distant,  in  one  case  reaching  to  the 
summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  had  a  voting  pre 
cinct  easily  accessible  by  those  who  had  heretofore 
done  our  voting  for  us.  Some  of  the  counties  com 
posing  the  districts  wer<3  not  even  contiguous,  but 
were  separated  more  than  fifty  miles  from  their  asso 
ciated  counties.  An  appeal  was  made  to  Gov.  Walker 
to  correct  the  apportionment,  but  he  was  powerless  to 
act;  so  the  election  was  forced  upon  us,  with  all  these 
terrible  disadvantages. 


CHA.FTER  XIII. 

The  Election  and  Fictitious  Returns. 

HA  YE  now  reached  the  most  important 
epoch  in  Kansas  history,  and  one  the  future 
historian  will  find  full  of  thrilling  incidents, 
for  on  it  hinges  the  destiny  of  an  institution  whose 
beginning  antedates  the  oldest  human  records, — 
whose  end  in  Eepublican  America,  and,  by  reflex 
action,  throughout  the  civilized  world — though  effaced 
with  an  ocean  of  blood,  is  clearly  traceable  to  that 
period  when  the  Free  State  party  triumphed  at  the 
polls  at  the  October  election  of  1857,  obtained  control 
of  the  law-making  power,  and  wielded  it  for  freedom 
against  their  oppressors.  Not  that  our  victory  was 
complete,  for  we  shall  observe,  before  closing  these 
chapters,  as  soon  as  one  danger  was  removed,  we  were 
beset  by  another,  and  still  another,  until  the  hopes  of 
many  failed  them. 

The  Grasshopper  Falls'  convention  united  the 
antagonistic  elements  of  the  Free  State  party,  the 
conservative  element  of  it  very  generally  subordi 
nating  their  claims  to  the  public  offices  to  the  more 
radical  wing,  to  the  end  that  there  should  be  no 
cause  for  further  division. 

The  pro-slavery  party  seemed  inactive.  No  fears 
were  entertained  of  a  general  invasion  from  Missouri ; 
that  if  attempted  at  all,  it  would  be  limited  to  the 
polling  precincts  on  the  border,  through  which  they 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  75 

would  secure  further  control  of  the  legislative  power. 
It  was  believed  they  were  so  confident  of  being 
admitted  into  the  Union  under  the  Constitution,  then 
in  progress  of  formation,  they  would  not  care  to  incur 
the  trouble  and  expense  of  electing  a  Territorial  Leg 
islature.  Each  party,  however,  entered  the  canvass 
with  a  full  ticket. 

Gov.  Walker,  on  the  16th  of  September,  published 
a  letter,  in  the  nature  of  a  proclamation  to  the  people, 
occupying  seven  full  columns  closely  set,  in  the 
Herald  of  Freedom,  in  which  he  reviewed  the  law 
Covering  the  election.  In  closing  he  declared,  in  sub 
stance,  which  we  somewhat  abridge: 

"However  solicitous  I  may  be  about  the  result  of 
the  pending  election,  or  anxious,  those  views  of  public 
policy  which  I  have  entertained  and  expressed  from 
my  youth  up,  especially  as  regards  the  EQUILIBRIUM  of 
our  government,  should  triumph  in  October,  yet  I 
cannot  and  will  not  do  any  act,  or  countenance  or 
sustain  any,  the  effect  of  which  will  deprive  the  peo 
ple  of  Kansas  of  any  rights  secured  to  them  by  the 
federal  compact,  the  organic  act,  or  the  laws  of  the 
Territory." 

The  Governor  stated  in  this  letter  that  the  troops 
at  his  command  would  be  placed  in  the  neighborhoods 
of  election  precincts  where  violence  or  outrage  on  the 
ballot-box  was  apprehended,  on  request  of  either 
party,  "not  for  the  purpose  of  overawing  the  people, 
or  of  interfering  in  any  way  with  the  elections,  but, 
by  their  mere  presence,  guarding  the  polls  against 
attempts  at  insurrection  or  violence." 

The  election  was  held  on  Monday,  October  5th. 
The  day  was  wet  and  cheerless,  while  previous  pro 
tracted  rains  had  made  the  mud  deep  and  the  traveling 


76  REMINISCENCES   OF 

difficult.  The  polls  were  few,  and  the  people,  other 
than  residents  of  towns,  had  to  make  long  journeys  to 
exercise  the  right  of  suffrage.  Besides,  it  was  at  the 
season  of  the  year  when  there  was  much  sickness  in 
the  Territory.  From  these  and  other  causes,  it  was- 
estimated  one-fourth  of  the  Free  State  vote  was  lost; 
nevertheless,  as  the  returns  arrived  from  distant 
points,  it  was  evident  the  Free  State  candidates  were 
elected  by  handsome  majorities. 

When  we  were  triumphing  over  the  result  new» 
arrived,  first,  that  500  votes  were  polled  at  the  pro- 
slavery  town  of  Kickapoo,  on  the  Missouri  river 
opposite  Weston,  Mo.,  by  which  the  Leavenworth 
district,  with  its  eight  members  in  the  House  and 
three  in  the  Council  were  given  to  the  pro-slavery 
party.  It  was  well  known  this  vote  was  almost 
wholly  fraudulent  or  simulated ;  but  the  next  question 
was  how  to  controvert  it. 

Then  came  a  reporft  that  Oxford,  an  insignificant 
point,  directly  across  the  Territorial  line  from  Little 
Santa  Fe,  Mo.,  without  half  a  dozen  legal  voters,  had 
returned  1,626  votes.  This  precinct  was  attached  to 
the  Lawrence  district,  and  these  simulated  votes,  if 
counted,  would  overcome  the  heavy  Free  State  vote, 
and  give  eight  more  pro-slavery  members  to  the  House 
and  three  to  the  Council,  united  with  the  Leavenworth 
district  and  the  Legislature  would  again  be  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemies  of  freedom. 

And  then  from  McGee  county  there  were  returns 
of  some  1,200  votes,  while  there  was  not  a  legal  voter 
in  the  county,  it  being  Indian  territory,  and  not  open 
to  settlement,  "exempted  out  of  and  forming  no  part 
of  the  Territory  of  Kansas,''  by  express  provision  of 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  77 

the  organic  act.  If  these  simulated  returns  were 
counted  by  the  Governor  and  Secretary,  not  only 
would  the  Legislative  Assembly  remain  in  pro-slavery 
hands,  but  so  would  the  delegate  to  Congress,  and 
most  of  the  county  officers. 

The  excitement  of  the  people  became  almost  vio 
lent.  To  add  to  its  intensity — as  it  was  well  known 
Oov.  Walker  was  at  Fort  Leavenworth  at  the  time  of 
the  election — it  was  reported  he  was  appealed  to  on 
the  day  of  election,  and  decided  that  soldiers  sta 
tioned  at  the  Fort  had  a  legal  right  to  vote,  and,  in 
consequence,  they  had  exercised  the  franchise  and 
swelled  the  opposition. 

The  Free  State  military  organizations  were  aroused 
into  activity;  a  small  party  of  armed  men  set  out  for 
Oxford  to  make  observations,  and  learn  the  facts 
which  transpired  at  that  precinct,  and  the  names  of 
the  scoundrels  who  were  the  perpetrators  of  the  fraud. 
Threats  of  assassination  of  the  Territorial  officers 
were  rife,  and  those  who  had  been  most  earnest  in 
supporting  the  voting  policy,  were  the  most  bitter  in 
their  determination  to  thwart  the  outrage  by  fair 
means  or  foul. 

The  writer  was  waited  upon  by  a  committee  of  three 
prominent  gentlemen  of  Lawrence,  and  requested  to 
visit  Lecompton,  see  the  Governor,  present  the  condi 
tion  of  affairs  to  him,  and  induce  him,  if  possible,  to 
reject  those  fictitious  returns.  It  was  urged  that  it 
was  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Herald  of 
Freedom  the  people  had  participated  in  the  election; 
that  reposing  confidence  in  Gov.  Walker's  pledges, 
guaranteeing  a  fair  and  honest  election,  the  result 


78  REMINISCENCES  OF 

had  been  brought  about;  they  tendered  a  span  of 
horses  and  carriage,  with  D.  W.  Wier,  Esq.,  a  young 
lawyer  then  resident  of  Lawrence,  for  company  on 
condition  I  would  go. 

A  paper  was  drawn  up,  reciting  the  facts  in  regard 
to  the  frauds,  signed  by  thirty  well  known  citizens, 
who  made  oath  before  a  Notary  to  the  truth  of  the 
statements.  They  solemnly  protested  against  these 
returns  being  counted. 

It  was  reported  the  Governor  returned  to  Lecomp- 
ton  the  day  before  and  immediate  action  was  neces 
sary.  It  was  near  sundown  when  we  set  out  on  our 
mission,  probably  on  the  14th  of  October,  for  that 
was  the  date  of  the  protest. 

Lecompton  had  no  particular  charms  for  us.  We 
had  first  visited  it  on  the  20th  of  May,  1856,  under 
duress,  guarded  by  a  body  of  horsemen  commanded 
by  Col.  Titus,  at  last  advices  an  incurable  paralytic  of 
Titusville,  Florida,  the  redoubtable  pro-slavery  ruf 
fian,  who  was  afterwards  connected  with  the  Nica 
ragua  expedition,  commanded  by  "Filibuster 
Walker."  For  nearly  four  months  we  had  been  held 
a  prisoner,  with  others,  in  that  vicinity.  Whenever 
the  name  was  mentioned  the  bitter  sarcasm  of  Judge 
Smith,  a  fellow  prisoner,  semi-delirious  with  chills 
and  fever,  would  come  to  mind:  "Hell  is  just  over 
the  hill  yonder.  I  get  the  sulphurous  odor  every 
time  I  turn  my  head  that  way.  Don't  you  smell  it!" 
When  we  first  came  to  the  town  it  was  filled  with 
Southern  ruffians,  hundreds  of  whom  had  gath 
ered  there  preparatory  to  a  descent  on  Lawrence  on 
the  following  day,  to  destroy  our  printing  office,  with 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  79 

that  of  Messrs.  Miller  &  Elliott's,  and  the  Free  State 
Hotel.  On  entering  Lecomptoii  on  that  occasion  the 
streets  were  filled  with  the  cowardly  desperadoes, 
who,  as  we  passed,  cried  out:  "There  is  that  G — d 
d — d  Abolitionist  Brown,  of  the  Herald  of  Freedom. 
Shoot  him !  Shoot  him !  Why  don't  you  shoot  the 
d — d  nigger  thief?  Loan  me  a  gun,  and  I'll  shoot 
him."'  These  and  similar  expressions,  always  well 
mixed  with  oaths,  were  heard  continually  until  we 
reached  the  quarters  assigned  us.  Keader,  do  you 
wonder  we  call  these  bravos  "cowardly,"'  who  treated 
a  prisoner,  unarmed  and  wholly  in  their  power,  in  this 
shameful  manner?  Or  that  we  never  had  any  love 
for  Lecompton  or  its  pro-slavery  inhabitants  there 
after?  And  is  it  strange  that  the  incidents  of  our 
first  visit  there  were  recalled  on  the  occasion  of  our 
second,  some  thirteen  months  after  our  release  with 
out  trial?  Hon.  Wm.  H.  Seward,  in  a  speech  at  Law 
rence,  a  couple  of  years  later,  emphasized  Lecompton 
as  "A  forlorn  widow,  sitting  there  alone  in  her  deso 
lation."  Even  her  "Lane  University"  will  hardly 
save  her  from  oblivion. 

A  part  of  the  traveled  road  to  Lecompton  was 
unknown  to  us,  and  as  it  was  only  starlight,  we  lost 
our  way,  and  brought  up  at  Big  Springs.  Keturning 
to  Judge  Wakefield's,  and  the  night  being  so  far 
spent,  we  tarried  until  morning.  Renewing  our  jour 
ney  at  dawn,  the  incidents  of  our  former  journey  to 
Lecompton,  as  just  narrated,  were  vividly  recalled. 

It  seemed  as  if  our  detention  en  route  was  provi 
dential,  for  the  Governor  only  arrived  at  Lecompton 
about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  from  Ft.  Leaven- 


80  REMINISCENCES   OF 

worth.  It  is  probable,  had  we  met  with  no  delay,  we 
should  have  missed  an  interview  with  him. 

After  breakfast,  I  sent  my  card  to  the  Governor's 
room,  who  boarded  at  the  same  hotel  where  we 
stopped.  No  attention  was  paid  to  it.  Waiting  an 
hour  or  two,  a  second  card  was  sent  up  requesting  an 
interview;  a  third;  dinner;  and  no  attention  to  my 
cards.  About  two  o'clock,  Lieut.  Carr,  the  Gover 
nor's  Aid,  presented  himself,  and  said  the  Governor 
was  very  busy;  that  he  was  having  an  interview  in  his 
room  with  several  gentlemen,  and  that  it  would  be 
impossible  for  him  to  see  me  before  three  o'clock. 

At  three  o'clock,  I  presented  myself  at  his  door, 
and  was  invited  to  his  room,  where,  I  should  suppose, 
were  from  ten  to  a  dozen  well  known  pro-slavery 
men,  who  seemed  in  earnest  conversation  as  I  entered. 

The  Governor  invited  me  to  a  seat.  I  stated  that  I 
wished  to  see  him  alone,  on  important  matters.  He 
replied  that  he  was  busy,  but  would  give  me  his  first 
leisure  moment.  A  short  time  passed,  when  Lieut. 
Carr  announced  the  Governor  was  alone,  and  would 
give  me  a  hearing.  I  went  to  his  room  again,  when, 
casting  about  me,  I  said: 

"Governor,  my  mission  to  you  to-day  is  of  a  very 
important  character,  and  it  is  with  you  alone.  These 
walls,  I  observe,  are  of  a  kind  that  ears  may  be  all 
around  us.  I  wish  to  see  you  where  we  shall  not  be 
interrupted,  and  where  there  will  be  no  reporters  for 
either  of  us." 

"We  can  go  to  the  Executive  Office,"  was  his  reply. 

"  Any  where  so  we  can  be  wholly  alone,  and  where 
neither  of  us  can  be  reported  by  others  to  our  preju 
dice." 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  81 

Together  we  went  to  the  second  story  of  a  building 
a  little  distance  away,  which,  though  I  had  never 
entered  before,  from  its  surroundings  was  evidently 
his  office.  Giving  me  a  chair,  and  taking  one  himself 
near  by,  he  said: 

"Here  there  are  no  ears  to  listen,  and  I  have  bolted 
the  door  so  there  will  be  no  intrusion.  Proceed  with 
what  you  would  say." 


XIV. 


Important  Interview  with  Governor  Walker. 

OYEBNOE,  I  have  called  to  talk  with  you  in 
regard  to  our  present  political  condition.  You 
are  aware  the  people  are  worked  up  to  fever  heat  over 
the  fraudulent  returns  which  have  been  sent  to  the 
Executive  office  from  various  election  precincts,  par 
ticularly  from  Oxford,  in  Johnson  county,  and  those 
from  McGee  county,  as  also  from  Kickapoo." 

"What  evidence  have  you  Mr.  Brown,  that  those 
returns  are  fraudulent,  as  you  allege?" 

"Simply  because  we  know  there  is  no  such  popula 
tion  in  the  districts.  Johnson  county,  in  which  this 
populous  city  is  located,  has  been  open  to  settlement 
only  about  six  months,  the  length  of  time  a  person 
must  have  been  a  resident  in  the  Territory  to  entitle 
him  to  a  vote.  Oxford  is  only  separated  from  Little 
Santa  Fe,  Mo.,  by  the  Territorial  line.  There  are 
not  half  a  dozen  houses  in  the  town,  and,  proba 
bly,  not  fifty  inhabitants  all  told  in  the  precinct;  and 
yet  1,626  votes  are  returned  as  cast  there  at  the  recent 
election.  On  the  first  day  of  the  election  we  have 
positive  proof  that  only  ninety  names  were  entered 
on  the  poll  books  when  closed  for  the  night,  leaving 
1,536  to  be  polled  on  the  second  day,  a  thing  practi 
cally  impossible,  even  had  the  voters  all  been  formed 
in  line,  and  each  moment  had  been  employed  in 
receiving  the  ballots  and  entering  names." 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  83 

"Well,  what  do  you  say  of  McGee  county?" 

"That  McGee  county  is  Indian  territory,  not  open 
to  settlement,  and  there  cannot  be  a  legal  vote  there." 

"But  election  precincts  were  provided  for." 

"By  some  person  who  was  ignorant  of  the  condition 
of  the  country,  else  with  the  design  of  paving  the 
way  to  the  fraud  they  have  attempted  to  consummate." 

"What  of  Kickapoo?" 

"It  is  an  unimportant  town  on  the  Missouri  river, 
above  Leavenworth,  with  not  two  hundred  inhabit 
ants,  men,  women  and  children  in  the  precinct." 

"Yes,  we  have  received  returns  from  these  places 
you  mention.  The  polls  were  opened  in  due  form,  at 
the  time  provided  for  by  law;  the  returns  are  strictly 
formal;  certified  to  by  the  officers  authorized  to  hold 
the  election;  they  are  found  correct  in  every  respect.'* 

"But  nevertheless  fraudulent." 

"We  have  no  means  to  determine  that.  The  signa 
tures  of  the  officers  seem  genuine,  and  we  have  not 
been  clothed  with  authority  to  go  behind  the  returns, 
and  inquire  what  transpired  prior  to  the  making  up 
of  the  record." 

"What  did  you  mean  then,  Governor,  by  your  prom 
ise  to  give  us  a  fair  and  impartial  election?" 

"Simply  just  what  I  said.  Has  any  man  been 
deprived  of  his  vote  who  was  legally  entitled  to  cast 
one?  Have  any  polls  been  closed  before  the  hour 
when  they  should  have  been  closed?  Tell  me  wherein 
you  have  not  had  a  fair  and  impartial  election." 

"We  do  not  complain  of  the  election,  but  of  the 
fictitious  returns.  It  is  to  the  counting  of  these  to 
which  we  enter  our  protest." 

"If  the  Legislature  had  given  us  power  to  go  beyond 


84  REMINISCENCES   OF 

the  returns,  and  inquire  into  the  objections  you  urge 
we  would  cheerfully  do  so,  but  we  are  as  powerless  as 
you  are  in  the  premises." 

"Governor,  in  our  first  interview,  you  said,  had  you 
been  in  Gov.  Eeeder's  place  you  would  have  suffered 
the  loss  of  your  right  arm,  and  been  bored  through 
by  a  bullet  before  you  would  have  given  certificates 
of  election  to  those  persons  elected  by  non-residents 
on  the  30th  of  March,  '55." 

"And  so  I  would.  The  cases  are  not  parallel.  Here 
everything  is  formal." 

"And  everything  was  formal  there." 

"Then  Eeeder  had  no  right  to  go  behind  the  returns. 
He  acted  in  harmony  with  all  the  precedents  in  Leg 
islative  bodies,  and  even  in  Congress." 

"They  do  it,  nevertheless." 

"A  usurpation  of  power  not  conferred  upon  them 
by  the  constitution." 

"You  are  greatly  disappointing  us  by  your  actions, 
and  placing  those  who  relied  upon  your  promises  in  a 
very  awkward  dilemma." 

"I  am  sorry  if  any  one  supposed  I  would  violate 
the  law  to  carry  a  point  against  my  own  party." 

"We  supposed  in  your  official  action  you  would 
stand  above  party." 

"And  so  I  have  and  will.  But  I  will  not  strain  a 
point  against  my  own  convictions.  My  party  friends 
in  the  South  have  denounced  me  in  unmeasured  terms 
because  of  my  faithful  discharge  of  duty;  and  the 
radicals  of  Kansas  and  of  the  whole  country  have 
assailed  me  constantly  ever  since  I  came  here.  Even 
the  Leavenworth  Times,  the  other  day,  gave  me  a 
column  and  a  half  of  personal  abuse.  You  have 


GOVERNOR  WALKER.  85 

always  treated  me  courteously  and  kindly,  but  I  sup 
pose  if  my  official  action  in  this  case  does  not  meet 
your  approbation,  you,  too,  will  not  be  sparing  of 
denunciations." 

"From  your  first  arrival  in  Kansas,  Governor,  I 
have  endeavored  to  do  justly  by  you.  Wherein  I  have 
differed  from  you  I  have  not  hesitated  to  say  so ;  but 
never  in  a  vindictive,  malevolent  spirit.  You  are  well 
aware  that  my  pecuniary  loss,  because  of  this  action, 
must  be  measured  by  thousands  of  dollars.  If  you  go 
back  on  your  pledges,  as  we  understand  them,  the 
Herald  of  Freedom  may  as  well  close  its  existence, 
unless  I  can  regain  rny  position  by  out-Heroding 
Herod.  The  truth  is,  those  of  your  friends  who 
place  confidence  in  you — all  of  us — are  compelled  to 
take  a  public  stand  against  you  or  go  under." 

"Be  it  so,  then,  but  I  shall  discharge  my  duty  faith 
fully." 

"And  count  those  fraudulent  returns?" 

"Count  any  returns  that  come  to  us  properly  authen 
ticated  with  the  signatures  of  the  judges  of  the  elec 
tion,  provided  they  are  otherwise  formal." 

And  thus  point  after  point  was  introduced,  and 
each  was  met  firmly  but  courteously  by  the  Governor. 
When  every  other  resource  seemed  exhausted,  I 
thought  to  try  still  another,  a  last  resort,  but  was 
doubtful  of  its  effect.  Said  I : 

"Governor,  before  leaving  there  is  a  fact  perhaps  I 
ought,  as  your  friend,  to  communicate  to  you;  and 
yet  it  will  cost  me  my  life  if  it  should  be  known  to  my 
party  friends. 

"What  is  it?" 


86  REMINISCENCES  OF 

"I  will  only  communicate  it  to  you  on  condition  you 
will  treat  all  I  shall  say  as  a  profound  secret — tell  it 
to  no  one,  and  take  no  action,  official  or  otherwise,  to 
thwart  it." 

"You  do  not  expect  me  to  make  you  such  a  pledge?" 

"Then  you  do  not  expect  me  to  communicate  a 
secret  to  you  to  save  your  life!" 

"Is  it  of  such  a  serious  nature?" 

"More  so.  It  involves  every  government  official  in 
Kansas,  and  the  stability  of  the  Union  itself!" 

"What  is  it?     Lose  no  time  in  telling  it  all." 

"Only  on  condition  of  your  solemn  pledge  as  indi 
cated." 

"I  give  it." 

"That  you  will  not  communicate  to  any  one  what  I 
shall  tell  you,  and  that  you  will  take  no  official  or 
other  action  to  prevent  or  defeat  the  plans,  save  as 
regards  your  own  life." 

"Yes." 

"Do  you  know  there  is  a  secret  Free  State  organi 
zation  permeating  this  Territory,  with  a  membership 
considerably  exceeding  ten  thousand?" 

"I  have  been  told  so." 

"Were  not  the  facts  established  by  the  report  of 
the  Congressional  Investigation  Committee  in  1856?" 

"Yes;  the  numbers  were  not  given,  but  it  was 
understood  the  membership  was  very  large." 

"And  most  thoroughly  armed?" 

"That  is  the  understanding." 

"And  that  they  are  acting  in  concert  with  the 
Republican,  party  in  the  States,  who  will  sustain  this 
organization  to  the  bloody  issue?" 

"I  believe  it." 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  87 

[I  was  very  glad  he  did,  for  I  believed  but  a  very 
small  portion  of  it.] 

"When  1  left  Lawrence  last  night  the  people  were 
in  a  perfect  furor  of  excitement.  They  were  organ 
izing  companies,  one  of  which  was  about  to  proceed 
to  Oxford  to  arrest  the  perpetrators  of  those  villain 
ous  returns.  It  was  proposed  to  execute  every  Terri 
torial  officer,  and  some  were  even  desperate  enough 
to  favor  a  collision  with  the  federal  government  if  it 
stands  in  the  way." 

The  Governor  sprang  to  his  feet  in  wild  excitement, 
caught  his  hat,  and  said  he  would  put  a  stop  to  such 
proceedings  at  once. 

"Your  pledge  of  honor,  Governor,  to  take  no  action, 
official  or  otherwise,  on  any  information  I  may  impart 
to  you." 

"I  will  take  measures  to  learn  these  facts  from  other 
sources. 

"There  will  be  no  action  save  organization,  and 
no  movement  of  the  company  already  in  search  of 
Batt  Jones  and  his  associates,  until  my  return  to  Law 
rence.  Sit  down;  and  let  us  talk  these  matters  over." 

He  did  so,  and  inquired:  "Who  are  these  con 
spirators?" 

"They  are  not  conspirators,  Governor;  They  are 
freemen  who  know  their  rights  and  dare  maintain 
them.  The  leaders  are  your  best  friends." 

"And  who  are  they?" 

"Col.  Eldridge,  Kobert  Morrow,  Jas.  Blood,  Judge 
Smith,  Capt.  Walker." 

"You  don't  say  that  Capt.  Walker  is  false  to  me?" 

"No,  he  is  true  as  steel,  and  will  stand  by  and  defend 
you  to  the  last  moment;  but  if  you  go  back  on  your 


88  REMINISCENCES   OF 

pledge,  he  and  Col.  Eldridge,  with  every  other  con 
servative  in  the  Territory,  will  take  an  open  stand 
against  you." 

"What  can  I  do?" 

"Redeem  your  pledges,  and  every  conservative  will 
die  in  your  defense,  if  need  be." 

"But  your  people  have  abused  and  falsified  me 
shamefully." 

"This  has  all  come  from  the  radical  element,  who 
have  sought  to  involve  the  country  in  strife,  hoping 
to  bring  on  a  general  war,  to  end  in  the  dissolution 
of  the  Union  and  of  American  slavery." 

"Yes,  and  they  will  accomplish  their  wicked  and 
treasonable  purposes  unless  arrested  in  their  mad 
schemes." 

"You  can  arrest  their  plans  by  doing  justly  by  the 
people." 

"Suppose  I  reject  these  returns  as  simulated  and 
fictitious,  what  will  you  do  for  me?" 

"Anything  you  demand." 

"Will  you  set  me  right  before  the  people?" 

"Most  assuredly  I  will."' 

"And  will  you  correct  those  damnable  lies  which 
they  have  been  repeating  about  me,  even  stating  that 
Gov.  Walker  changed  clothes  with  a  soldier  at  the 
Fort,  and  then  went  up  to  the  polls  and  voted  the 
pro-slavery  ticket  throughout,  and  advised  everybody 
else  to  do  so?" 

"Of  course  I  will/' 

"And  you  will  go  to  Lawrence  and  stop  the  insane 
action  of  these  men.  who  would  engage  in  wholesale 
murder  and  pillage;  who  would  break  up  the  govern- 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  89 

ment  and  involve  all  the  States  in  a  general  war?" 

"I  can  promise  you,  Governor,  that  all  this  is  con 
tingent  on  your  action." 

"And  you  know  there  is  no  such  population  as  the 
Oxford  and  McGee  county  returns  indicate?" 

"I  have  so  officially  certified  in  my  jurat, attached 
as  Notary  to  the  protests  against  your  and  Secretary 
Stanton  counting  these  returns." 

"Will  you  write  your  next  leader  for  the  Herald  of 
Freedom  here,  and  allow  me  to  dictate  it?" 

"I  will." 

"And,  Mr.  Brown,  I  am  frank  to  say  that  I  have 
some  political  aspirations  of  my  own,  after  Kansas  is 
admitted  a  State  into  the  Union.  My  people  in  the 
South  have  gone  back,  on  me,  and  my  future  hope  of 
position  rests  with  the  people  of  Kansas.  Will  you 
aid  me  with  your  paper?" 

"When  we  are  admitted  a  State  under  other  than 
the  proposed  Lecompton  constitution,  if  there  is  any 
place  in  the  government  you  wish,  from  United  States 
Senator  down,  if  I  can  aid  you  to  it,  it  is  yours." 

The  Governor  produced  some  paper,  placed  pen 
and  ink  before  me,  and  said:  "Write  as  I  dictate." 
He  folded  his  arms,  and  commenced  walking  back 
and  forth,  the  length  of  the  room,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  table  from  which  I  sat,  reciting  slowly, 
with  lengthy  pauses,  as  if  reading  from  a  book.  Turn, 
reader,  if  accessible,  to  the  Herald  of  Freedom  of 
October  17th,  1857,  copies  of  which  are  on  file  with 
the  Historical  Society,  at  Topeka,  Kansas;  with  the 
Antiquarian  Society,  of  Worcester,  Mass.;  in  the 
State  Library  of  New  York;  and,  through  the  polite- 


90  REMINISCENCES    OF 

ness  of  the  honorable  Secretary  of  the  Historical 
Society  of  Kansas,  a  copy  is  temporarily  in  the  wri 
ter's  possession,  while  these  sheets  are  being  pre 
pared;  and  on  the  second  page,  read  the  first  article 
headed:  "Complicity  of  Gov.  "Walker  in  the  Election 
Frauds,"  filling  two  and  one-fourth  columns.  That 
article,  every  paragraph,  sentence,  line,  and  even  punc 
tuation  mark,  was  dictated  by  Gov.  Walker  in  the 
manner  indicated.  When  done,  he  said:  "Head  it 
over  carefully,  and  repeat  the  punctuation  marks."  I 
did  so.  He  said:  "It  is  correct.  And  you  will  make 
that  article  your  leader  in  the  next  issue  of  your 
paper?" 

"I  will." 

"On  Monday  morning  Secretary  Stanton  and  I  will 
go  down  to  Oxford,  and  see  the  country  for  ourselves. 
Unless  it  is  clear  they  have  a  population  on  which  to 
base  such  a  vote,  the  returns  from  there  shall  be 
rejected.  Go  back  to  Lawrence  and  assure  your 
friends  that  all  will  be  well;  that  Gov.  Walker  will 
keep  faith  with  the  people  of  Kansas;  that  he  will 
not  go  back  on  any  of  his  pledges.  Kestrain  them 
from  any  acts  of  violence,  and  advise  me  if  there  is 
danger  of  any  further  disturbance." 

Thus,  reader,  I  have  detailed  to  you  the  substance 
of  an  interview  lasting  from  six  to  seven  hours  with 
Gov.  Walker,  and  though  it  may  be  I  was  induced  to 
promise  what  I  would  not,  under  other  circumstances, 
yet  the  consideration  was  great,  involving  results  that 
no  one  then  dreamed  of.  We  shook  hands,  bade  each 
other  good  night,  and  I  made  my  way  to  the  street. 

Here  is  that  editorial  dictated  by  Gov.  Walker.  Its 
publication  was  advised  by  Hon.  Eli  Thayer,  after 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  91 

reading  the  newspaper  edition  of  these  Reminis 
cences  : 

COMPLICITY  OF  Gov.  WALKER  IN  ELECTION  FRAUDS. — 
Among  the  multiplicity  of  reports  hourly  reaching  us  of  frauds 
in  the  late  elections,  the  interference  of  Missourians,  soldiers  voting, 
and  other  grave  charges  against  Gov.  WALKER,  we  have  thought 
it  but  just  to  the  Governor  and  the  public  that  we  should  inquire 
into  them,  and  give  our  readers  the  result  of  our  own  investiga 
tions.  Our  purpose  has  been  to  arrive  at  the  truth,  not  to  shield 
the  Governor,  or  any  person  acting  in  concert  with  him  from 
deserved  censure. 

The  first  charge  against  Gov.  Walker  represents  that  he  has 
labored  to  induce  a  Missourian  by  the  name  of  HERNDON  to  vote 
at  Kickapoo.  When  we  heard  the  report  we  pronounced  it  false, 
because  we  felt  it  was  in  violation  of  his  instructions  from  the 
President,  and  diametrically  opposite  to  all  his  pledges  made 
repeatedly  to  the  Free  State  party  and  the  public  generally,  and 
his  expression  to  us  personally.  While  at  Lecompton  the  other 
day  we  chanced  to  meet  Lieut.  CARR  of  the  U.  S.  Army,  a 
gentleman  from  New  York  of  unimpeachable  integrity,  and  a  per 
sonal  acquaintance  of  ours.  Lieut.  Carr,  we  believe,  is  the  aid  of 
the  Governor,  and  has  generally  accompanied  his  Excellency  on 
his  tours  through  the  Territory.  The  Lieutenant  states  that  he 
was  with  Gov.  Wr.  at  Kickapoo,  and  that  he  was  present  at  the 
interview  with  the'Governor  and  Mr.  Herndon.  Gov.  W.  inquired 
of  Mr.  H.  if  he  had  voted.  The  latter  replied  that  he  had  not; 
that  he  was  a  resident  .of  Missouri.  "Then,  said  the  Governorr 
"you  have  no  right  to  vote."  This  expression  is  in  keeping  with 
Gov.  W's  action  and  advice  in  regard  to  foreign  interference  in 
our  elections,  and  agrees  with  his  late  address  over  his  own  sig 
nature,  and  to  the  fact  that  in  carrying  out  the  spirit  of  the  address 
he  had  placed  troops  at  the  instance  of  the  Free  State  party,  at 
five  points  in  Kansas,  contiguous  to  the  Missouri  line,  to  prevent 
frauds  upon  the  citizens,  and  particularly  against  voting  by  Mis 
sourians.  It  will  be  seen,  then,  that  the  above  story  is  wholly 
false,  and  if  reported  was  gotten  up  for  effect. 

Let  us  state  here,  that  we  were  informed  weeks  ago  by  pro- 
slavery  men,  and  by  persons  from  Leavenworth  and  other  places 
along  the  border,  that  immediately  after  the  October  election  a 
concerted  movement  would  be  made  by  the  pro-slavery  party  to 


92  REMINISCENCES   OF 

get  rid  of  Gov.  Walker.  This  information  we  have  communicated 
repeatedly  to  friends,  and  to  the  Governor  himself.  Of  course  we 
had  no  knowledge  of  the  mode  of  attack;  but  we  felt  confident  it 
would  be  made.  We  firmly  believe  that  if  Mr.  Herndon,  or  any 
other  men,  are  making  such  gross  representations  against  Gov.  W. 
they  are  doing  it  for  effect;  that  it  is  a  part  of  the  great  plan  for 
getting  his  Excellency  out  of  the  way;  and  that  they  are  laboring 
to  make  cats'  paws  of  the  Free  State  party  in  their  dirty  work; 
and  from  present  appearances  are  likely  to  be  quite  successful. 
The  pro-slavery  party  in  the  past  has  not  hesitated  to  resort  to 
fraud  and  falsehood,  and  even  perjury  to  carry  out  their  ends. 
The  tendency  of  their  late  gross  frauds  has  not  been  to  give  them 
a  better  character.  We  would  earnestly  caution  the  public  that 
they  be  not  too  hasty  in  condemning  the  Governor  on  flying 
rumors,  and  newspaper  reports ;  nor  even  volunteered  and  extra- 
judicial  affidavits;  for  good  men  hare  been  lied  down,  and  others 
may  be.  Theie  is  danger  of  striking  down  our  best  friends  when 
we  allow  such  instrumentalities  to  be  employed  successfully  in 
crushing  them. 

It  is  stated  that  a  large  number  of  U.  S.  troops  voted  under 
Gov.  Walker's  directions  at  Kickapoo,  and  the  Leavenworth 
Times  devotes  a  column  and  a  half  to  that  subject.  Let  us  state 
the  facts  as  we  understand  them: 

When  Gov.  Walker  wrote  his  late  address  to  the  people  of  Kan 
sas,  it  has  been  contended,  first,  that  no  person  could  vote  at  the 
recent  elections  without  having  paid  a  tax.  The  pro-slavery 
Grand  Jury  of  Lecompton  some  two  months  ago,  had  so  decided 
in  their  letter  to  Judge  Cato;  he  concurred  most  fully  in  that 
opinion.  Attorney  General  WIER  coincided  in  an  elaborate 
argument.  Under  this  formidable  weight  of  authority  Gov.  W. 
addressed  the  Government  at  Washington  stating  most  emphati 
cally  his  opinion  that  the  people  could  vote  without  the  payment 
of  this  tax,  and  his  determination  to  act  on  that  opinion,  with  the 
view,  however,  to  give  additional  force  to  his  own  views  he 
requested  those  of  the  President  and  Cabinet.  Now  it  is  manifest 
that  if  the  authorities  had  not  concurred  with  Gov.  W.  in  his 
views,  they  must  have  recalled  him,  and,  therefore,  he  put  his  office 
and  position  at  stake  on  this  question,  for  the  benefit  of  the  people 
of  Kansas;  but  most  fortunately  the  question  was  so  strongly  and 
clearly  argued  by  the  Governor  that  the  President  and  all  his 
Cabinet — as  he  tells  us  in  his  late  address — endorsed  his  opinion; 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  93 

and  if  the  peace  of  Kansas  has  been  preserved,  and  the  PEOPLE 
have  elected  their  Delegate  to  Congress,  and  their  Territorial  Leg 
islature,  and  shall  for  the  first  time  obtain  control  of  their  own  affairs 
we  owe  it  most  distinctly  to  this  very  just  act  on  the  part  of  the 
Governor.  Now  that  the  Governor  should  set  about  to  destroy 
the  work  of  his  own  hands  seems  incredible.  What  is  the  evi 
dence  to  the  contrary?  It  is  said  that  the  Governor  interfered  so 
far  as  to  direct  the  troops,  as  stated  above,  to  vote  at  Kickapoo 
against  the  Free  State  party.  We  would  here  ask,  inasmuch  as 
Gov.  W.  had  2,600  troops  under  his  command,  why  he  did  not 
induce  them  all  to  vote,  instead  of  the  40,  as  alleged  at  Kickapoo 
only?  Now  we  believe  the  facts  will  turn  out  to  be  substantially 
as  follows:  When  Gov.  W.  was  preparing  his  address  as  to  the 
qualification  of  voters,  the  first  question  which  naturally  presented 
itself  to  his  consideration  was  this:  As  the  organic  act  permits 
the  Territorial  Legislature  of  Kansas  to  prescribe  the  qualification 
of  voters  at  every  election  but  the  first,  does  the  proviso  or  the 
organic  act,  prohibit  soldiers  and  persons  attached  to  the  army 
"by  reason  of  their  being- on  service  therein"  from  voting  at  the 
first,  or  all  subsequent  elections?  This  question  was  decided  in 
our  favor,  as  his  address  fully  shows.  Now  the  Territorial  enact 
ment  of  Feb.  20,  '57,  declares  that  "all  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  who  have  resided  in  the  Territory  six  months  before  the 
election,  shall  be  permitted  to  vote."  The  question:  how  was  this 
organic  law  to  be  reconciled  with  the  Territorial  act  on  this  point? 
We  understand  they  were  reconciled  thus:  that  soldiers  and 
persons  attached  to  the  army  could  not  vote  "by  reason  of  their 
being  on  service  therein,"  but  if  they  possessed  all  the  qualifica 
tion  of  voters  independent  of  such  service,  and  were  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  and  had  a  bona  fide  residence  of  six  months  next 
preceding  the  election  in  the  Territory,  they  had  a  right  to  vote 
under  the  Territorial  law.  That  is,  if  a  soldier,  teamster,  or 
mechanic,  resided  with  his  family  in  Missouri,  he  should  not  vote 
by  reason  of  his  being  on  service  here,  but  if  such  soldier,  team 
ster  or  mechanic,  was  a  bona  fide  resident  here,  independent  of 
such  service,  especially  if  prior  to  his  enlistment,  and  had  no  other 
residence  but  this  for  the  six  months  next  preceding  the  election, 
he  had  a  right  to  vote,  not  as  a  soldier,  but  as  a  resident  citizen* 
These,  too,  were  Gov.  Reeder's  views,  as  we  chance  to  know 
under  the  same  organic  law,  as  several  officers  at  Fort  Riley  were 


94  REMINISCENCES   OF 

permitted  to  vote  as  early  as  1855,  under  the  same  constitution; 
and  this  right  has  never  been  previously  questioned.  Gov.  W., 
however,  as  we  understand,  did  not  wish  the  soldiers  to  vote; 
indeed,  we  are  told  when  this  question  was  discussed  at  Fort 
Leavenworth  for  several  days  preceding  the  election,  Gov.  W. 
expressed  a  hope  that  the  soldiers  would  not  vote,  though  he  gave 
no  order  on  the  subject,  and  had  no  right  to  give  any.  Now,  how 
did  any  of  them  come  to  vote?  We  may  state,  the  election  having 
passed  off  quietly  at  Leavenworth  on  the  first  day,  and  going  off 
with  equal  quietness  on  the  second,  the  Governor,  as  we  under 
stand  from  Lieut.  Carr,  sometime  after  dinner  on  the  second  day 
rode  to  Kickapoo,  not  to  participate  in  any  barbacue,  for  none  was 
given  there,  nor  to  take  any  part  in  the  election,  nor  to  interfere 
in  any  way  in  the  proceedings,  but  to  see  that  everything  was 
passing  off  quietly  there,  and  then  to  return  to  the  Fort.  Shortly 
.after  arriving  at  Kickapoo,  as  we  have  the  statement  from  Lieut. 
Carr,  the  Governor  was  informed  that  several  soldiers  who  had 
•obtained  leave  of  absence  from  the  camp  had  voted,  and  they  had 
actually  voted  the  Free  State  ticket.  Gov.  Walker  was  then 
urged  by  citizens  to  withdraw  the  expression  of  his  wishes  in  order 
that  the  other  soldiers,  if  they  desired,  might  also  participate  in  the 
election.  After  considerable  delay  and  hesitation,  he  did  consent, 
provided  those  soldiers  only  should  vote,  who,  independent  of 
their  being  in  the  service,  had  the  citizenship  and  evidence  required 
by  law.  And  a  few  of  them,  our  Free  State  friends  say,  to  the 
number  of  forty,  did  vote;  but  how  they  voted  or  for  whom,  Gov. 
W.  declares,  as  Lieut.  Carr  states,  he  never  knew,  and  does  not 
-now  know  how  they  voted,  as  the  Governor  rode  away  immedi 
ately  to  the  Fort,  and  the  election  was  then  drawing  to  a  close; 
but  even  if  they  all  voted  the  pro-slavery  ticket,  which  is  absolutely 
•denied,  it  would  not  change  the  result,  either  for  Delegate  to  Con 
gress,  or  Territorial  Legislature,  or  any  county  officer. 

Lieut.  Carr  also  states  that  none  of  the  officers  went  to  the 
polls,  and  that  they  did  not  even  intimate  to  the  men  which  way 
their  own  political  proclivities  lay,  but  only  gave  permission  to  go 
to  the  polls  to  such  men  as  desired  it,  and  their  opinion  is  that  not 
more  than  twenty-five  did  go. 

But  how  as  to  Johnson  county,  which  does  change  the  result  as 
regards  the  Territorial  Legislature?  Why,  Gov.  Walker,  at  the 
request  of  the  Free  State  party,  sent  a  strong  force  consisting  of  a 
battery  and  three  companies  of  artillery,  equal  to  a  force  of  1,300 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  95 

men,  under  the  command  of  Col.  Brooks,  formerly  of  Massachu 
setts,  himself  a  Free  State  man,  to  Shawnee  in  Johnson  county, 
the  supposed  point  of  danger,  to  prevent  illegal  voting,  especially 
from  Missouri.  Westport  in  Missouri,  but  three  miles  distant 
from  the  Shawnee  precinct,  was  the  anticipated  point  for  the  concen 
tration  of  the  Missourians,  and  from  this  point  originally,  they 
intended  to  come.  This  was  evident  from  previous  experience,  as 
well  as  from  what  occurred  before  and  after  the  election.  Col. 
Brooks  arrived  at  Shawnee  the  day  before  the  election.  When 
Col.  B.  arrived,  he  states,  that  he  was  called  upon  by  the  cele 
brated  Col.  Titus  and  also  by  a  Mr.  Anderson  of  Westport,  who 
complained  bitterly  of  the  stationing  of  troops  there,  and  said  that 
"The  people  would  be  compelled  to  vote  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet." 

Col.  B.,  however,  remained  firm  at  his  post,  exhibiting  Gov. 
W's  address  against  foreign  voters  as  his  letter  of  instructions. 
What  followed?  Why  the  Missourians  changed  their  place  of 
voting  and  went  on  the  second  day  to  Oxford,  which  is  twelve 
miles  distant  from  Shawnee,  and  some  fifteen  miles  from  West- 
port,  a  point  directly  on  the  border  of  Missouri  opposite  the  town 
of  Little  Santa  Fe.  Here  the  fraud  was  perpetrated,  not  on  the 
first,  but  quietly  on  the  second  day  of  the  election.  Indeed  we  do 
not  believe  any  of  these  votes  were  given,  but  were  merely  entered 
and  counted  as  such,  as  appears  by  the  certificates  on  file  at 
Lecompton,  to  the  number  of  1,538  on  this  second  day,  which 
was  impossible,  or  even  one-half  that  number,  to  be  polled  on  one 
day.  Now  it  is  upon  the  Oxford  precinct  of  Johnson  county  that 
a  majority  of  the  voters  for  the  Territorial  Delegate  to  Congress, 
probably,  and  certainly  a  majority  of  the  Delegates  to  the  Terri 
torial  Legislature  will  turn.  If  this  Oxford  precinct  is  rejected, 
the  people  will  have  the  Delegate  and  the  Territorial  Legislature, 
and  the  result  will  mainly  depend  upon  the  action  of  Gov.  Walker. 
If  he  is  true  to  the  solemn  pledges  contained  in  his  inaugural 
address,  in  his  Topeka  speeches,  and  his  late  proclamation  on  the 
tax  qnestion,  he  will  reject  this  fraudulent  return  with  scorn  and 
indignation.  This  we  firmly  believe  he  will  do  from  his  past 
course.  Indeed  if  he  did  not  wish  the  people  to  rule  Kansas  why 
did  he  issue  his  address  on  the  tax  question,  which  address,  if  we 
do  succeed,  issued  under  the  most  trving  circumstances,  will  have 
given  us  peace  and  victory? 

We  are  happy  to  learn  that  a  protest  has  been  signed  and  for- 


96  REMINISCENCES   OF 

warded  to  the  Governor  and  Secretary  in  regard  to  these  Oxford 
returns,  which  will  be  found  in  another  column.  If  the  Governor 
proves  false  to  his  pledges,  and  not  till  then,  will  be  the  time  to 
seek  other  modes  of  redress. 

If  the  last  resort  of  freemen  shall  become  necessary,  let  us  at 
least  first  know  whether  Governor  Walker  will  not  do  his  whole 
duty,  and  render  the  last  alternative  unnecessary. 

Let  us  have  our  rights,  "peaceably  if  we  can,  forcibly  if  we 
must." 

And  thus  my  sale  to  Gov.  Walker,  of  which  some 
very  small  men  have  accused  me,  and  have  continued 
to  repeat  almost  down  to  the  period  this  book  was  put 
to  press,  my  consideration,  as  the  facts  show,  the 
freedom  of  Kansas,  and,  incidental  thereto,  the  free 
dom  of  the  civilized  world  from  chattel  slavery,  was 
cotingent  on  this  action.  My  compeers  were  similarly 
maligned.  Would  that  our  traducers,  who  judged  of 
our  market  value  by  their  own  worthlessness,  had 
realized  a  millionth  fraction  of  that  consideration  for 
their  malicious  libels. 


CHA  FTER  XV. 

Score  One  for  Freedom  ! 

Ty  EAVING  the  Executive  office,  I  sought  the 
l&i  hotel,  where  I  found  Mr.  Wier  waiting  with 
deep  anxiety  my  return.  I  had  not  seen  or  commu 
nicated  with  him  since  going  to  Gov.  Walker's  room, 
soon  after  three  o'clock,  and  my  long  absence  proba 
bly  recalled  former  incidents  in  Kansas  history,  when 
committees,  representing  the  people,  sent  to  Lecomp- 
ton  to  consult  Territorial  officials,  were  arrested  for 
some  fictitious  offense  and  imprisoned. 

We  set  out  for  Lawrence,  and  made  a  speedy  trip 
home.  Col.  Eldridge  and  two  other  gentlemen, 
names  not  remembered,  called  at  my  office,  to  whom 
I  gave  a  brief  account  of  the  interview  with  the  Gov 
ernor,  and  read  the  editorials  in  manuscript,  written 
under  his  dictation.  I  also  stated  the  promise  he 
made  me,  to  reject  the  fraudulent  returns;  and  that 
on  the  following  Monday  he,  with  Secretary  Stanton, 
would  drive  down  to  the  newly-found  city  of  Oxford, 
with  its  dense  voting  population,  and  on  his  return 
they  would  make  public  their  decision. 

This  intelligence  quickly  spread  over  Lawrence, 
and  the  excitement  was  greatly  allayed  thereby.  On 
Saturday  the  editorial  referred  to  appeared  in  the 
Herald  of  Freedom,  and  on  the  Monday  following 
Gov.  Walker;  Secretary  Stanton,  and,  I  think,  Lieut. 
Carr,  with  the  government  ambulance,  passed  down 


98  REMINISCENCES    OF 

from  Lecompton,  on  their  way  to  Oxford,  stopping 
for  a  short  time  at  the  Herald  of  Freedom  office, 
where  they  made  much  mirth  over  the  newly-discov 
ered  city,  whose  name  was  unknown  to  all  of  us  until 
these  returns  gave  it  notoriety. 

At  Fish's,  a  place  of  entertainment,  a  little  distance 
below  Blue  Jacket's,  they  met  a  small  party,  of  which 
G.  W.  Deitzler  was  one.  from  Lawrence,  who  had 
been  down  to  the  State  line  to  learn  facts,  and  were 
on  their  return.  A  much  larger  party  were  on  their 
way  to  arrest  the  Judges,  if  they  could  be  found,  and 
these  passed  the  Governor's  party  at  this  place. 

John  Speer  is  reported  as  intimating,  at  Bismarck 
Grove,  on  the  occasion  of  the  Quarter  Century  cele 
bration,  in  September,  1879,  that  the  threats  of  these 
men  induced  Gov.  Walker  and  Secretary  Stanton  to 
reject  those  fraudulent  returns.  The  writer  had  the 
Governor's  promise,  several  days  before,  as  narrated 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  to  so  act;  and  this  knowl 
edge  was  in  possession  of  five  persons  certain,  and 
such  others  as  could  be  trusted  with  the  secret.  We 
regret  that  Mr.  Speer  waa  not  of  this  number,  then 
he  would  have  done  the  Governor  better  justice. 

The  Governor  and  Secretary  were  absent  some  two 
or  three  days,  when  they  returned  to  Lawrence, 
unrolled  in  the  hall  of  the  Morrow  House,  and  exhib 
ited  to  the  public  the  Oxford  returns,  measuring 
nearly  fifty  feet  in  length,  with  the  names  of  1,626 
persons,  who  it  was  claimed  voted  at  that  precinct, 
and  which  seemed  to  have  been  copied  from  some 
city  directory.  They  stated  that  the  city,  with  so 
large  a  population,  contained  just  six  houses;  that  the 
village  of  Santa  Fe,  Mo.,  containing  twenty  houses, 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  99 

was  separated  from  it  by  a  street,  the  center  of  which 
was  the  State  and  Territorial  line;  that  the  people  of 
all  classes  ridiculed  the  idea  of  there  being  one-tenth 
the  number  of  the  people  represented  as  voting  in 
the  place  during  the  two  days  of  the  election.  They 
returned  to  Lecompton  on  the  19th,  published  a  proc 
lamation  rejecting  the  returns,  and  issued  certificates 
of  election  to  the  Free  State  candidates. 

While  the  Free  State  residents  of  the  Territory 
were  greatly  rejoiced  at  the  result,  the  excitement, 
which  had  been  so  violent  at  Lawrence  and  other 
Free  State  towns,  was  now  transferred  to  the  pro- 
slavery  residents  of  the  Territory,  being  most  bitter 
at  Lecompton,  where  the  principal  leaders  of  the 
party  resided.  Threats  of  violence  to  the  Governor 
and  Secretary  were  heard  on  every  hand. 

The  principal  residents  of  Lawrence,  to  the  num 
ber  of  over  a  hundred,  joined  in  a  letter,  addressed  to 
the  Executive  and  Secretary,  thanking  them  for 
their  just  action,  and  inviting  them  to  remove  to  Law 
rence,  promising  them  full  protection  against  the 
"fiends  who  desired  to  crush  them,  and  trample  on 
the  dearest  rights  of  the  people."  The  writer,  accom 
panied  by  Kobert  Morrow,  conveyed  the  letter  to  the 
Governor,  who  we  found  quite  ill,  with  a  high  fever, 
at  the  residence  of  Secretary  Stanton,  some  two  miles 
east  of  Lecompton.  The  labor  and  excitement  of  the 
last  few  weeks  had  been  too  much  for  the  Governor's 
age  and  feeble  constitution. 

But  a  little  time  after  our  arrival,  Secretary  Stan- 
ton  entered  the  room,  and  introduced  a  Mr.  Faunt. 
The  latter  gave  the  Governor  a  sort  of  process, 
designed  for  a  mandamus,  issued  by  Judge  Cato, 


100  KEMINISCENCES    OF 

dated  Oct.  20th,  directed  to  Kobert  J.  Walker  and 
Frederick  P.  Stan  ton,  "enjoining"  them  to  issue  cer 
tificates  of  election  to  the  pro-slavery  candidates 
therein  named. 

The  Governor  sprang  from  bed  greatly  excited, 
and  declared  that  Judge  Cato  had  forgotten  his  posi 
tion;  that  he  was  subordinate  to  the  Executive, 
instead  of  the  Executive  to  himself;  that  he  was  so 
ignorant  of  law  he  had  issued  what  was  evidently 
designed  for  a  peremptory  mandamus,  directed  to 
them  instead  of  to  the  Marshal  of  the  Territory— 
the  ministerial  officer  of  the  court;  that  if  issued  at 
all  it  should  have  been  alternative,  leaving  it  with 
them  to  do  as  commanded,  or  show  cause  for  not 
doing  so.  Secretary  Stanton,  who  was  also  a  lawyer 
by  profession,  was  as  denunciatory  as  the  Governor 
of  Judge  Cato's  action,  who  was  attempting  to  deprive 
them  of  the  prerogative  of  counting  the  returns, 
which  the  law  exclusively  vested  in  them.  They  said 
the  Legislative  Assembly  could  only  review  their 
action,  as  regarded  its  own  members,  and  Congress  as 
regarded  the  delegate  to  that  body.  Instead  of  mak 
ing  a  point  with  these  officials,  the  latter  were  still 
farther  estranged.  Indeed,  the  breach  was  made  so 
broad  by  this  action  it  was  never  healed. 

On  the  21st  the  Governor  and  Secretary  joined  in  a 
letter  to  the  people  of  Lawrence,  thanking  them  for 
their  kind  invitation  to  remove  to  that  city.  They 
said  the  interests  of  the  Territory  required  their 
presence  at  the  capital,  and  "no  hazard  of  personal 
consequences  would  deter"'  them  from  remaining 
there  and  faithfully  discharging  their  duties.  They 
also  declared  in  that  letter:  "From  our  first  inspec- 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  101 

tion  of  the  Oxford  returns  we  never  hesitated  as  to 
their  rejection,"  and  announced  that  they  had  rejected 
as  spurious  and  illegal  the  returns  both  from  Oxford 
and  McGee  county. 

The  answer  of  the  officials  to  the  mandamus  of 
Judge  Cato  was  decidedly  interesting.  They  showed 
conclusively,  that  the  Judge  had  no  jurisdiction  in 
the  premises;  that  such  authority  had  never  been 
exercised  in  any  State  or  Territory,  and  quoted  numer 
ous  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  adverse  to  such  jurisdiction;  that  the  rights  of 
the  opposition  candidates  would  be  affected,  and  that 
they  should  be  made  a  party;  that  they  had  issued 
certificates  of  election  to  the  adverse  claimants, 
before  process  was  served  011  them,  and  that  such  cer 
tificates  were  in  the  hands  of  the  officers  and  beyond 
recall;  that  if,  in  disregard  of  all  this,  the  Judge 
decided  adversely,  they  begged  an  appeal  to  the 
Supreme  Court;  and  if  they  were  still  held  in  con 
tempt,  and  the  Court  ordered  their  imprisonment, 
and  feared  the  interference  of  the  populace,  they 
would  issue  an  order  to  the  military  to  place  such 
force  as  his  honor  should  deem  necessary  at  the  serv 
ice  of  the  Marshal,  to  enable  him  to  hold  them  safely 
in  custody. 

The  laugh  was  on  the  Judge,  and  his  ruling,  what 
ever  it  may  have  been,  was  never  made  public. 

The  reader  inquires:  "Was  it  really  the  intention 
of  Gov.  Walker  to  go  back  on  his  pledges?"  This 
was  at  the  time,  and  has  been  ever  since  a  subject  of 
earnest  consideration.  The  opinion  arrived  at  then, 
and  which  the  writer  has  seen  no  occasion  to  change, 
was,  that  he  was  angered  by  the  course  of  the  radical 


102  REMINISCENCES    OF 

press,  particularly  the  Lawrence  Republican  and  the 
Leavenworth  Times,  the  latter  a  semi-conservative 
paper,  which  contained  a  lengthy  article  filled  with 
personal  abuse  and  misrepresentation  of  the  Gover 
nor,  which  he  had  just  seen.  He  no  doubt  felt  that 
if  his  best  acts  were  to  be  falsified,  and  that  continu 
ally,  he  would  retort  in  a  way  which  would  be  effect 
ive.  During  the  entire  day  before  my  interview  he 
had  been  closeted  with  the  most  prominent  pro- sla 
very  leaders.  Gov.  Walker  had  lost  his  political 
standing  in  Mississippi,  overborne  by  the  disunion- 
Jefferson-Davis  school,  and  of  course  hoped  to  regain 
it  in  Kansas.  Probably  he  had  been  encouraged  by 
promises  of  favor  and  position  under  the  Lecompton 
Constitution.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  Governor's 
whole  manner  and  language  showed  conclusively  to 
my  mind,  that  his  purpose  was  to  count  the  pro-sla 
very  men  into  office  and  the  Free  State  men  out. 
When  assured  of  continued  confidence  and  support 
from  the  Herald  of  Freedom,  and  possibly  his  per 
sonal  fears  were  aroused,  he  resolved  to  stem  the  tide 
of  opposition  in  his  own  party,  act  with  the  stronger 
and  do  justice  to  them.  * 

Secretary  Stanton,  on  the  contrary,  had  not  shared 
so  liberally  in  the  personal  abuse  of  the  radical  press 
and  the  letter-writers.  He  had  removed  to  Kansas 
with  his  family,  and  determined  to  make  the  Terri 
tory  his  permanent  home.  His  interests  and  future 
were  of  a  different  character  from  those  of  the  Gov 
ernor.  A  younger  man,  with  more  personal  courage, 
he  had  resolved  from  the  first  to  do  right.  Dining  at 

*See  Secretary  Stanton's  letter  in  the  Appendix. 


GOVERNOR  WALKER.  103 

my  own  table,  a  few  weeks  before,  he  said,  in  so  many 
words,  written  down  within  an  hour  from  their  utter 
ance  :  "My  right  hand  shall  sooner  be  severed  from 
my  body  than  I  will  sign  a  certificate  o£  election 
where  I  am  satisfied  a  person  is  elected  by  fraud."  I 
thought  at  the  time,  and  wrote  soon  after  [See  Her 
ald  of  Freedom,  of  Oct.  24,  1857,  2d  page,  3d  col 
umn,]  "Let  Secretary  Stan  ton  keep  that  solemn 
pledge,  and  his  name  will  be  endeared  to  the  people 
of  Kansas."  He  kept  it  faithfully,  and  I  now  write 
with  pleasure,  he  and  Gov.  Walker,  in  this  emergency, 
were  the  people's  REAL  DELIVERERS! 

Thus  the  first  step  in  the  Herald  of  Freedom  plat 
form,  of  July  4th,  was  successfully  taken,  and  so  far 
as  a  voice  in  Congress  thereafter  was  concerned,  we 
were  victorious,  as  also  with  regard  to  the  Territorial 
Legislature,  and  the  local  administration  of  the  laws; 
but  all  the  while  we  had  been  thus  actively  endeavor 
ing  to  regain  our  rights  in  these  directions,  we  were 
conscious  a  new  danger  was  threatening,  which  was 
still  more  formidable  than  those  we  had  so  success 
fully  encountered. 


CHLA.:PTE:R  xvi. 

"Blood  and  Thunder." 

IN  TKACING  the  action  of  the  Free  State  party 
to  get  possession  of  the  Territorial  government, 
we  have  neglected  to  watch  the  State  movement,  under 
the  proposed  Lecompton  Constitution.  It  was  evi 
dent  the  pro-slavery  leaders  had  an  understanding 
with  President  Buchanan  and  his  Cabinet,  and  that 
all  their  movements  were  inspired  at,  and  directed 
from  Washington.  Even  Gov.  Walker  was  instructed 
to  recognize  the  Convention  as  a  legal  one,  and  give 
it  his  protection. 

When  the  Constitutional  Convention  assembled  at 
Lecompton,  on  the  7th  of  September,  1857,  the  troops 
were  still  before  Lawrence.  On  the  9th  of  Septem 
ber  Col.  Cooke  received  imperative  orders  from 
Washington,  to  remove  his  command,  without  delay, 
to  Fort  Leavenworth.  Gov.  Walker  was  greatly 
incensed  because  of  this,  and  declared  he  would  not 
remain  in  the  Territory  without  the  troops  to  aid  in 
maintaining  order.  He  left  immediately  on  the 
receipt  of  the  dispatch  for  the  Fort,  hoping  to  get  the 
order  countermanded.  He  failed.  On  the  morning 
of  the  llth  the  entire  regiment  was  on  the  move,  and 
the  beleagured  city  was  relieved  of  its  long  surveil 
lance. 

With  the  removal  of  the  troops,  as  if  fearful  of  its 
personal  security,  the  Convention  adjourned  until  the 


GOVERNOR  WALKER.  105 

19th  of  October,  late  enough,  before  again  assem 
bling,  to  learn  the  result  of  the  Territorial  election 
to  be  held  on  the  5th. 

In  our  "Reminiscences  of  old  John  Brown,"  pub 
lished  in  1880,  mentioning  the  period  from  the  7th  of 
August,  to  the  2d  of  November,  1857,  and  the  resting 
of  Capt.  Brown  at  Tabor,  Iowa,  with  the  leading 
spirits  of  his  command;  his  brief  visit  to  Lawrence, 
change  of  plans,  and  then  to  the  East,  we  said,  page 
52,  second  column: 

"I  have  one  of  the  most  exciting  chapters  in  Kan 
sas  history,  to  detail  sometime,  which  occurred  during 
this  interesting  period,  and  which  may  partially 
explain  John  Brown's  reasons  for  hovering  on  the 
borders  of  Kansas  during  this  interval.  To  introduce 
it  in  these  pages  would  require  the  introduction  of 
other  characters,  which  are  not  at  present  subjects  of 
inquiry,  hence  it  is  reserved  for  another  occasion." 

That  occasion  is  before  us,  and  we  hasten  to  its  nar 
ration  : 

It  is  remembered  that  on  the  16th  of  July,  Gen. 
Lane  was  instructed  to  organize  the  military  forces 
in  Kansas  "for  the  protection  of  the  ballot  box.'  But 
this  was  not  the  source  of  his  authority.  A  secret 
Order  was  instituted  by  Lane,  ostensibly  to  oppose 
the  aggressions  of  the  slave  power  in  Kansas.  This 
organization  was  under  the  management  of  those  who 
opposed  the  voting  policy.  They  were  always  talking 
about  fighting  the  government  if  it  stood  in  their  way. 
Their  leaders  fled  the  Territory  on  the  first  approach 
of  danger,  to  return  when  all  was  over,  and  renew  the 
agitation  which  cooler  heads  had  allayed  during  their 
absence. 

Wm.  A.  Phillips,  the  special  Kansas  correspondent 


106  REMINISCENCES   OF 

of  the  New  York  Tribune,  wrote  his  journal,  dated 
June  17,  1857:  "Mark  my  words!  Nothing  but  a  suf 
ficient  force  of  the  United  States  army  will  be  able 
to  keep  that  Constitutional  Convention  in  Kansas." 

At  Osawkee,  in  July,  while  the  Delaware  Trust 
Lands  were  being  sold,  speaking  of  his  military 
organization,  Gen.  Lane  said:  "They  will  assemble 
at  Lecompton  on  the  day  the  Constitutional  Conven 
tion  assembles  for  review." 

I  think  it  was  near  noon  of  Saturday,  the  17th  of 
October,  1857,  Augustus  Wattles,  at  that  time  oar 
associate  editor,  entered  the  sanctum  of  the  Herald 
of  Freedom  office  in  an  excited  manner,  very  unusual 
to  him,  and  said  hurriedly: 

"Why,  Brown,  we  are  on  the  eve  of  a  revolution! 
Gen.  Lane  has  ordered  the  organized  Free  State  for 
ces  of  the  Territory  to  assemble  on  Monday  next, 
with  arms  and  three  days'  supply  of  provisions,  the 
purpose  of  which  is  to  march  on  Lecompton  and  kill 
every  member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention.  It 
is  also  his  purpose  to  wipe  out  the  Territorial  Gov 
ernment,  and  set  up  the  Topeka  Government.  The 
United  States  troops  are  en  route  for  Utah,  and  now 
is  thought  a  good  time  to  strike.  Unless  headed  off 
in  his  insane  movement,  notwithstanding  our  recent 
success  at  the  polls,  all  is  lost;  for  the  country  will 
never  indorse  this  scheme  of  wholesale  murder!" 

I  questioned  him  sufficiently  to  know  he  was  mak 
ing  a  statement  on  positive  knowledge.  Catching  my 
hat  I  rushed  to  the  different  business  houses,  and 
made  them  acquainted  with  the  information  Mr. 
Wattles  had  imparted.  G.  W.  Collamore,  G.  W. 
Smith,  Wesley  and  Charles  Duncan  ( both  now  living 


GOVERNOR  WALKER  107 

at  Lawrence, )  George  Ford,  Columbus  Hornsby,  and, 
indeed,  all  the  substantial  men  whom  I  met,  were 
invited  to  assemble  immediately  in  a  vacant  room 
over  the  store  of  Messrs.  Duncan,  for  consultation. 
In  a  very  short  time  they  were  in  session,  probably 
from  fifty  to  one  hundred.  We  organized  with  Judge 
Smith  as  chairman.  The  object  of  the  meeting  was 
briefly  stated,  when,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Collamore,  a 
committee  of  three  was  appointed  to  invite  Gen. 
Lane  to  attend  the  meeting. 

The  committee  soon  returned  accompanied  by  the 
General.  The  chairman  stated  to  him  what  the  people 
had  casually  learned,  in  regard  to  his  proposed 
descent  on  Lecompton,  and  the  assassination  of  the 
members  of  the  Constitutional  Convention,  and 
inquired  of  him  if  they  were  correctly  informed. 

The  General  at  first  seemed  to  evade  a  direct 
answer.  He  entered  into  a  disquisition  on  the 
wrongs  the  people  of  Kansas  had  sustained  from  the 
pro-slavery  party,  and  was  really  eloquent,  in  his  way, 
as  he  recounted  our  grievances.  While  he  was  speak 
ing  in  this  strain,  avoiding  an  answer  to  Judge 
Smith's  interrogatory,  a  crowd  of  young  men,  "boys," 
as  Lane  always  called  them,  came  pouring  in  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  room,  and,  as  was  their  habit,  when 
Lane  pointed  his  long,  bony  Jftnger  and  said,  "Great 
God!"  in  his  peculiar  way,  they  cheered  heartily. 
Seeing  that  his  backers  were  with  him,  he  became 
more  bold  and  defiant.  I  was  without  writing  mate 
rial,  but  with  pencil,  old  envelopes,  backs  of  letters 
and  on  finger  nails,  wrote  down  the  substance  of 
Lane's  wildest  utterances. 


108  REMINISCENCES   OF 

The  speaker,  having  observed  what  I  was  doing, 
stopped  in  the  midst  of  his  extravagant  expressions 
and  said: 

"George,  do  me  the  personal  favor  not  to  report 
this  speech." 

Of  course  I  gratified  him,  and  ceased  taking  fur 
ther  written  notes ;  but  carefully  treasured  in  memory 
the  substance  of  what  he  said,  which  is  still  retained 
as  if  repeated  yesterday. 

It  was  apparent,  by  the  vociferous  cheering,  long 
before  he  concluded,  that  then  and  there  was  not  the 
time  or  place  to  vote  on  the  question,  so  an  adjourn 
ment  was  had  until  evening,  in  front  of  the  Morrow 
House. 

During  the  afternoon  the  whole  town  was  advised 
of  the  character  of  the  proposed  evening  meeting, 
and.  the  attendance  was  very  large.  Judge  Smith 
called  the  meeting  to  order.  Gen.  Lane  desired  a 
further  hearing,  and  was  given  the  temporary  stand. 
He  came  prepared  for  the  occasion,  and  his  backers 
were  with  him.  They  cheered  him  to  the  echo.  Mr. 
Collamore  and  myself  moved  among  the  crowd,  and 
both  despaired  of  the  result. 

Some  other  person,  I  think  it  was  Judge  Schuyler, 
followed  Lane,  who,  in  a  mild  and  pacificatory  speech, 
deprecated  such  a  condition  of  the  country,  and 
expressed  his  opinion  that  the  occasion  did  not 
demand  such  extreme  measures  as  were  proposed. 

As  the  second  speaker  retired,  Joel  K.  Goodin 
mounted  the  rostrum.  Mr.  Collamore  and  myself 
expressed  surprise  to  see  him  take  the  stand.  He 
commenced  by  saying  he  had  received  an  order  from 
his  superior  officer  to  report  at  Lawrence,  armed  and 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  109 

equipped  for  efficient  military  duty,  and  to  bring  pro 
visions  and  camp-equipage  for  three  days'  service; 
that,  "in  obedience  to  that  order,  I  am  here  to-night 
with  my  command,  having  made  the  journey  all  the 
way  from  Centropolis  especially  to  obey  it.  [Cheers.] 
I  feel  that  the  occasion  is  one  which  demands  great 
sacrifices.  [Cheers.]  We  have  worked  all  summer  in 
a  quiet  way  to  regain  the  rights  wrested  from  us  by 
the  invasion  of  the  30th  of  March,  '55,  and  in  spite  of 
fraud  and  artifice  we  have  triumphed.  We  have  seen 
this  Territory  torn  and  disturbed  by  hostile  parties; 
men  murdered  in  cold  blood;  our  homes  burned,  and 
our  families  scattered,  and  we,  at  times  compelled  to 
seek  personal  safety  in  flight.  Gov.  Geary  came  here 
and  restored  order,  and  Gov.  Walker  has  bent  all  his 
energies  in  the  same  direction.  Under  his  wise 
administration,  we  saw  in  imagination  a  brilliant 
future  before  us.  But  here  is  that  Lecompton  Con 
stitutional  Convention  threatening  us  with  new  dan 
ger,  when  we  supposed  our  dangers  were  all  passed. 
Gen.  Lane  tells  us  that  further  peaceful  measures  are 
out  of  the  question;  that  our  only  remedy  for  this 
new  trouble  is  by  shedding  blood.  I  fully  agree  with 
him!  [Boisterous  cheers.]  Nothing  but  blood  will 
quiet  this  agitation,  and  restore  tranquility  to  Kansas. 
Nothing  but  blood  will  make  Kansas  a  Free  State. 
[Cheers.]  I  came  here  expressly  to  spill  blood,  and 
I  propose  to  do  it  before  I  return  home.  [Protracted 
cheering.]  It  is  not  just  that  the  whole  country 
shall  be  convulsed;  that  disorder  and  violence  shall 
be  continued;  that  the  perpetuity  of  the  government 
shall  be  endangered  by  a  revolution,  when  a  little 
waste  of  worthless  blood  will  restore  order  and 


110  REMINISCENCES  OF 

tranquil! ty  again.  [Cheers  on  cheers.]  But  I  may 
differ  with  some  of  you  as  to  the  proper  place  to 
begin  this  blood-spilling  business.  [Hear!  hear!]  No 
person  has  occasioned  more  strife,  or  been  the  more 
fruitful  cause  of  our  disturbances  than — James  H. 
Lane!  He  demands  blood!  We  all  want  it;  but  it  is 
his  blood  that  is  demanded  at  this  time;  and  if  he 
presses  on  his  assassination  project,  I  propose  he 
shall  be  the  first  person  to  contribute  in  that  direc 
tion."  [The  wildest  cheering  possible,  greatly  pro 
longed,  followed.]* 

*Joel  K.  Goodin,  Esq.,  after  reading  Chapter  16,  in  which  he 
plays  an  important  part,  wrote: 

OTTAWA,  Kan.,  March  30,  1881. 

MY  OLD  FRIEND: — I  received  yesterday  the  galley  proof  of 
your  "Blood  and  Thunder"  article,  [Chap.  16,]  in  your  "Remi 
niscences  of  Gov.  Walker,"  and  have  carefully  read  it.  It  freshly 
brought  to  mind  many  past  scenes  and  incidents.  My  little 
"blood  speech"  is  correctly  reported  so  near  as  I  can  remember  it 
— at  least  you  have  given  its  import.  We  were  being  called  from 
our  homes  every  few  days  to  satisfy  the  ambition  and  caprice  of 
the  uneasy  and  tireless  Lane,  and  were  becoming  not  only  dis 
gusted  but  mad,  and  proposed  to  have  it  "dried  up.'  A  most 
fearful  and  wanton  system  of  savagery  and  assassination  was  being 
planned  by  Lane,  which  the  Free  State  party  were  intended  to  be 
held  responsible  for,  not  only  to  our  own  government,  but  to  the 
world.  For  one  I  was  unwilling  to  take  any  such  responsibility. 
Those  I  had  with  me  felt  the  same  way,  and  urged  that  I  give 
public  expression  to  their  views.  This  I  did  fearlessly  and  plainly, 
and  was  most  happy  then,  as  I  am  now,  that  I  contributed  some 
thing  towards  turning  the  tide  of  proposed  outlawry  and  bloodshed 
into  the  channels  of  peace. 

In  the  early  days  we  always  had  a  bad  element  at  Lawrence.  I 
refer  to  the  young,  undisciplined  bloods,  who  were  without  repu 
table  means  of  support,  always  ready  and  anxious  to  take  part  in 
anv  hellish  scheme  set  on  foot  to  stir  up  strife.  This  element  was 
largely  controlled,  or,  rather,  was  ready  to  effervesce  at  the  die- 


GOVERNOR  WALKER.  Ill 

Gen.  Lane  seemed  perfectly  confounded.  The 
whole  throng  were  taken  by  surprise;  and  the  busi 
ness  portion  of  it  were  delighted  beyond  expression, 
that  some  person  had  the  ability  and  sufficient  force 
of  character  to  meet  a  bold,  bad  man,  and  throttle 
his  murderous  plans  at  their  inception.  The  writer 
thought  it  a  good  time  for  action.  Hurrying  to  the 
stand,  he  said: 

"It  is  evident  from  the  statements  of  Gen.  Lane, 
and  what  we  have  heard  from  others,  that  there  will 
be  a  goodly  number  of  people  in  Lawrence  by  Mon 
day  next,  who  feel  as  we  do,  that  the  convention 
about  re- assembling  in  Lecompton  is  not  a  body  rep 
resenting  the  people  of  Kansas;  that  I  propose  we  go 
there  on  Monday  next,  in  a  quiet  and  orderly  man 
ner,  as  peaceable  citizens,  avoiding  all  riotous  demon 
strations,  to  arrive  by  noon,  if  possible,  and  there, 
before  the  hall  in  which  that  body  is  assembled,  for 
mally  protest  against  that  convention  framing  a  Con 
stitution  for  us;  that  they  are  a  body  foreign  to  our 

turn  of  Lane.  Their  time  was  nothing;  while  we  in  the  country 
had  to  undergo  many  severe  privations  in  running  after  Lane's 
orders,  messages  and  commands  as  self-imposed  military  dictator. 
No  wonder  we  tired  and  felt  in  a  degree  revengeful.  For  years  I 
could  not  agree  with  him,  and  was  constantly  in  his  way  in  the 
"Executive  Committee,"  thwarting  his  ridiculously  impracticable, 
reckless,  extravagant  and  sometimes  atrocious  plans  and  sugges 
tions.  L'sually  I  had  Judge  Smith,  yourself,  and  Holliday,  when 
present,  with  me,  which  gave  us  the  majority.  He  would 
come  and  fume,  but  we  were  firm  and  inflexible,  so  he  would  soon 
drop  his  crazy  project,  to  immediately  concoct  another  equally 
objectionable.  I  feel  that  we  did  our  duty  well,  and  am  content 
to  abide  the  decision  of  the  future  historian  who  shall  review  our 
actions.  Truly  Yours,  J.  K.  GOODIN. 


112  REMINISCENCES   OF 

soil,  with  no  interests  in  common  with  the  people  of 
Kansas." 

Gen.  Lane  stepped  forward,  seconded  the  proposi 
tion,  and  made  a  short  speech  in  its  favor.  A  com 
mittee  was  appointed  to  make  arrangements,  appoint 
marshals  to  lead  the  procession,  and  to  do  everything 
necessary  to  carry  successfully  into  execution  the 
measure. 

On  Monday  the  procession  was  formed,  and  pro 
ceeded  quietly  to  Lecompton,  where  they  formally 
organized,  with  P.  C.  Schuyler  as  President.  A  com 
mittee  on  resolutions  was  appointed,  of  which  Wm. 
Hutchinson  was  chairman.  While  the  committee 
were  in  consultation  on  the  resolutions,  Gen.  L 
made  one  of  his  most  effective  political  speeches. 

The  protesting  resolutions  were  reported,  and 
adopted  by  acclamation.  Maclean,  of  the  Land  Office, 
Stewart,  of  the  Convention,  and  Sam  Young,  a  prom 
inent  lawyer,  all  pro-slavery,  made  speeches;  to  which 
Gen.  Lane  replied;  after  which  the  protestants 
adjourned,  and  retraced  their  steps  to  Lawrence.  All 
felt  that  the  movement  set  on  foot  to  drench  the 
country  in  blood  had  been  fortunately  turned  into  an 
instrumentality  of  good. 

In  this  connection,  I  recall  an  interview  with  Gov. 
Robinson,  in  which  this  abortive  attempt  of  Gen. 
Lane  to  inaugurate  a  revolution  was  under  discus 
sion.  He  mentioned  being  present  at  a  meeting  of 
Lane's  secret  military  organization,  in  Masonic  Hall, 
the  date  of  which  he  did  not  remember,  at  which  he 
was  initiated  a  member,  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
ceremony  Gen.  Lane,  in  his  characteristic  style 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  113 

recounted  the  work  before  the  Order.  He  said:  "I 
have  ordered  Gen.  -  -  to  strike  at  Leavenworth; 
Gen.  -  -  to  strike  at  Atchison;  Gen.  -  -  to  strike 
at  Doniphan;  Gen.  -  -  to  strike  at  Kickapoo;  now 
it  remains  for  you  to  say  what  shall  be  done  with 
Lecompton;"  his  extreme  modesty,  no  doubt,  pre 
venting  him  from  assuming  command  of  the  expedi 
tion  against  that  delectable  town,  preferrimg  the 
Order,  of  which  he  was  the  head,  to  so  depute  him. 
Gov.  Eobinson  said,  that  after  a  period  of  silence  he 
was  called  upon  for  remarks.  Eising  and  addressing 
the  chair,  he  inquired  by  what  authority  this  proce 
dure,  to  attack  and  destroy  pro-slavery  towns,  had 
been  inaugurated?  Gen.  Lane  replied:  "By  direc 
tion  of  the  Military  Board."  The  Governor  con 
tinued:  "The  Board  can  give  no  such  authority.  It 
would  be  foreign  to  the  purpose  of  its  organization." 
He  then  gave  notice  that  he  should  oppose  any  such 
movement  with  all  the  ability  he  possessed.  Gov. 
Eobinson  never  met  with  the  secret  conclave  again, 
possibly  feeling  like  the  intruding  guest  ejected  from 
a  hotel.  Finding  himself  forcibly  thrust  into  the 
street,  slowly  rising,  surveying  his  condition,  and 
brushing  the  dust  from  his  person,  an  observer  ven 
tured  the  question,  "How  did  you  feel  as  you  were 
tumbling  down  stairs?"  "Very  much  as  if  I  was  not 
wanted  there!"  was  the  prompt  reply.  It  is  very  cer 
tain  Gov.  Eobinson  never  desired  to  enter  that  mystic 
circle  again;  and  his  readiness  to  suppress  an  incip 
ient  revolution,  set  on  foot  by  the  "Grim  Chieftain" 
and  his  Danite  band,  did  not  tend  to  make  him  more 
popular  with  that  class  of  men. 

Whether  this  proposed  general  movement  against 


114  REMINISCENCES  OF 

the  leading  pro-slavery  towns  of  the  Territory,  was 
planned  to  come  off  at  the  same  time  with  the  pro 
posed  military  descent  on  Lecompton,  we  are  not 
advised;  but,  from  the  date  of  an  order  in  Gen.  Lane's 
handwriting,  signed  by  him,  and  now  in  our  posses 
sion,  directed  to  "Capt.  Charley  Lenhart,"  ordering 
him  to  "take  such  number  of  active  young  men  as  you 
shall  deem  necessary,  and  proceed  with  as  little  delay 
as  possible  to  colonize  Kiokapoo,"  we  are  convinced 
that  the  two  periods  were  concurrent  in  time. 

So,  too,  in  this  proposed  assasination  of  all  the  mem 
bers  of  this  Constitutional  Convention,  we  have  the 
secret  of  old  John  Brown  remaining  so  long  at  rest — 
from  the  7th  of  August  to  the  2d  of  November — with 
all  the  members  of  his  clan,  who  were  members  of  this 
secret  organization,  and  familiar  with  its  plans,  hov 
ering  on  the  Kansas  border,  watching  hourly  for 
advices  from  Kansas,  delaying  for  twelve  days  after 
the  period  fixed  for  striking  the  fatal  blow;  thence, 
with  a  single  son,  overland  to  Lawrence;  a  brief  inter 
view  with  Gen.  E.  B.  Whitman,  a  high  functionary 
and  second  in  command  in  this  secret  organization;  a 
short  visit  to  Gov.  Robinson,  who  frankly  told  him  he 
was  damaging  the  cause  of  Free  Kansas  by  his  pred 
atory  operations  along  the  border,  and  then  his  return 
east,  "disgusted  wiih  the  Kansas  leaders!" 


In  a  New  Role. 

EEOM  the  first  settlement  down  to  the  period 
of  which  I  write,  the  whole  Democratic  press, 
North  and  South,  seemed  united  against  the  Free 
State  pioneers  of  Kansas,  and  the  cause  they  repre 
sented.  The  administration  at  Washington  was  Dem 
ocratic.  As  it  had  joined  hands  with  the  usurpers, 
of  course  the  Democratic  press  sustained  them ;  and 
the  reader  of  those  journals  floated  along  with  the 
popular  current. 

Cogitating  on  this  condition  of  things,  with  a  large 
Democratic  exchange  list,  I  saw  that  the  St.  Louis 
Republican  was  the  text  book  which  furnished  the 
key-note  for  the  party,  from  the  President  down  to 
the  meanest  Border  Kuffian  who  made  his  annual 
visit  to  Kansas  to  do  its  voting. 

Henry  Clay  Pate,  of  Westport,  Mo.,  was  the  Kan 
sas  correspondent  of  the  Republican,  and  his  crimi 
nally-false  statements  were  continually  going  the 
rounds  of  his  party  papers,  always  to  the  prejudice  of 
the  cause  for  which  we  were  laboring. 

Recalling  these  facts,  it  occurred  to  me  that  if  the 
tone  of  that  paper  could  be  changed,  a  great  good 
could  be  accomplished.  I  wrote  out  at  length  the 
leading  incidents  in  the  preceding  chapter,  added  to 
it  some  facts  in  my  possession  regarding  the  move 
ments  of  Gov.  Walker  and  Sec'y  Stanton,  was  careful 


116  REMINISCENCES   OF 

that  every  statement  should  bear  the  severest  criti 
cism,  and  sent  the  same  to  the  Republican,  placing  it 
at  the  editor's  disposal,  stating,  in  an  accompanying 
letter,  that  if  he  wanted  a  correspondent  who  was 
intimately  acquainted  with  every  fact  in  Kansas  his 
tory  from  its  first  settlement;  who  held  confidential 
relations  with  both  the  Territorial  officials  and  the 
Free  State  party;  and  who  would  pledge  himself 
never  to  write  a  falsehood,  then  it  would  give  me 
pleasure  to  fill  that  position. 

By  return  mail,  I  received  a  letter  from  the  propri 
etor  of  the  Republican,  stating  that  my  proposition 
was  accepted;  that  the  letter  received  would  appear 
in  the  next  morning's  paper;  that  he  wanted  me  to 
write  at  least  one  letter  a  week,  and  as  much  ofteiier, 
even  if  it  was  daily,  as  I  had  important  events  to 
communicate;  that  he  would  pay  me  five  dollars  for 
each  letter  used,  and  would  place  no  restrictions  on 
me,  only  to  keep  my  promise  to  write  the  truth  let  it 
militate  against  whom  it  might.  It  further  stated 
that  Mr.  Pate  was  already  discharged,  and  they  had 
no  other  correspondent  from  thenceforth  but  myself. 
I  made  a  similar  arrangement  to  write  for  the  N.  Y. 
Commercial  Advertiser,  and  a  few  letters  to  the  N. 
Y.  Evening  Post. 

I  communicated  to  no  one,  not  even  my  nearest 
friends,  the  position  I  was  filling;  and  to  avoid  sus 
picion  of  the  postmaster,  the  letters  were  directed  to 
the  editors  by  name,  and  not  to  the  papers.  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  those  letters  copied  into  the 
almost  entire  Democratic  press  of  the  North,  headed 
with  heavy  display  lines  of  "The  Truth  from  Kansas 


GOVEKXOR    WALKER.  117 

at  Last,"  "Wholesale  Assassination  Proposed  by  Jim 
Lane,"  "Gov.  Walker  Playing  an  Honest  Hand," 
"The  Free  State  Party  Largely  in  the  Majority," 
"The  Lecompton  Constitution  Eepudiated  by  the 
People,"  and  thus  on  through  successive  numbers  of 
the  paper. 

Not  only  the  Democratic  press,  but  Republican 
journals  as  well,  copied  these  letters,  usually  with 
approving  comments,  at  the  same  time  calling  atten 
tion  to  the  changed  tone  of  the  opposition. 

Congress  was  about  to  convene.  As  I  was  conscious 
the  fraudulent  Constitution  would  be  submitted  to 
that  body  at  an  early  day  in  its  session,  and  recog 
nizing  that  Senator  Douglas  was  a  power  in  the  Sen 
ate  Chamber,  I  wrote  that  distinguished  gentleman  a 
long  letter,  showed  up  the  iniquity  of  the  Constitu 
tional  Convention,  and,  to  secure  his  confidence  and 
assure  him  that  I  was  "behind  the  scenes,"  I  sent  him 
a  ritual  of  a  secret  Order,  printed  at  the  Herald  of 
Freedom  office.  The  Order  was  instituted  at  an 
early  day,  had  ceased  to  be  operative  and  had  been 
superseded  by  another.  Of  the  latter  facts  I  said 
nothing.  Mr.r  Douglas  wrote  me  a  very  pleasant  let- 
tor  in  reply ;  thanked  me  for  having  communicated 
such  important  information,  which  he  would  make 
use  of  when  he  had  occasion  to  again  address  the 
Senate  on  Kansas  affairs.  At  the  same  time  he  made 
numerous  inquiries  in  regard  to  various  matters 
touching  that  Constitution ;  of  the  body  by  which  it 
was  made;  their  election,  etc.  Any  one  having  the 
curiosity  to  know  what  Mr.  Douglas  said  of  the  writer, 
without  mentioning  his  name,  or  of  his  action  to 


118  REMINISCENCES   OF 

defeat  that  Constitution,  can  consult  the  Congres 
sional  files  of  that  time.  Sufficient  for  me  to  say, 
from  henceforth  Mr.  Douglas  opposed  that  villainous 
Constitution,  and  the  ruffians  who  called  it  into  being, 
-with  all  the  energy  of  which  he  was  so  largely  the 
master. 

Those  who  are  willing  to  do  the  opposition  justice 
were  frank  to  concede  had  Mr.  Douglas'  great  influ 
ence  been  turned  in  the  other  channel,  notwithstand 
ing  all  our  struggles  to  the  contrary,  in  all  probability 
we  should  have  been  admitted  into  the  Union  a 
slave  State.  I  am  glad  to  record  in  this  connection, 
that  other  gentlemen  exercised  great  influence  with 
Senator  Douglas  at  this  critical  period  in  our  history. 
Gov.  Kobinson  held  a  long  personal  interview  with 
him,  soon  after  the  bogus  Constitution  reached  Wash 
ington;  and  Gov.  Walker  relied  upon  Douglas'  efforts 
in  the  Senate  to  secure  justice  to  Kansas,  since  it  was 
denied  by  President  Buchanan  and  his  infamous 
Cabinet. 

I  shall  have  occasion  in  our  next  chapter,  to  show 
stil  further  valuable  services  my  position  as  corres 
pondent  ofthe  St.  Louis  Republican  enabled  me  to 
perform  in  antagonizing  the  Constitution. 


CHAPTER 

New  Dangers  to  be  Combatted. 
HE  CONSTITUTIONAL  Convention  re-con- 
vened  011  the  19th  of  October,  without  a  quo 
rum,  however,  for  several  days,  as  the  publicity  given 
to  Lane's  assassination  scheme  frightened  the  more 
timorous  of  that  body  into  temporary  exile  from  the 
capital.  Gov.  Walker  succeeded  in  getting  a  small 
force  from  Fort  Leavenworth,  under  the  immediate 
command  of  Maj.  Sedgwick,  to  protect  the  Conven- 
tion  from  the  violence  of  the  people  for  whom  they 
were  making  a  Constitution,  after  which  they  resumed 
their  work  of  forging  chains  for  those  they  wished  to 
enslave. 

That  body  completed  its  labors  on  the  7th  of 
November,  and  made  provision  for  submitting  only 
the  article  relating  to  slavery  to  the  people.  They 
had  taken  the  precaution  to  provide  for  the  existence 
of  slavery  by  other  articles  of  the  Constitution;  so 
that  in  reality  it  made  no  difference  in  the  legal  effect 
whether  the  article  referred  to  was  adopted  or 
rejected;  slavery  was  still,  by  its  provisions,  the  fun 
damental  law  of  the  State,  and  was  placed  beyond  the 
power  of  repeal. 

Both  Gov.  Walker  "end  Secretary  Stanton  had 
labored  with  the  members  of  the  Convention  to  pro 
cure  the  submission  of  the  Constitution  as  a  whole  to 
the  people,  but  in  this  they  were  defeated. 

Soon    after    the    adjournment   of  the  Convention 


120  REMINISCENCES   OF 

Gov.  Walker,  under  the  pretext  of  important  personal 
business,  left  for  Washington,  he  said,  to  be  absent 
three  or  four  weeks.  Arriving  there  he  held  long 
personal  and  very  animated  interviews  with  President 
Buchanan,  trying  to  induce  him  to  give  the  Consti 
tution  no  countenance;  but  all  to  no  purpose.  Finally, 
on  the  17th  of  December,  the  Governor  wrote  a  long 
letter  to  Secretary  Cass,  reviewing  the  condition  of 
Kansas  affairs,  denouncing  the  attempt  to  rob  the 
people  of  their  liberties,  and  tendered  his  resignation, 
which  was  formally  accepted  on  the  following  day. 

There  seemed  no  other  way  to  get  a  legal  expres 
sion  of  the  popular  will  with  regard  to  the  Constitu 
tion,  to  go  before  Congress,  than  through  action  of 
the  Legislature.*  That  body,  under  existing  law, 
would  not  meet  in  regular  session  until  the  4th  of 
January,  1858,  the  very  day  provided  in  the  Consti 
tution  for  the  election  of  officers  under  it. 

*"The  plan  of  an  extra  session  of  the  Legislature,  to  meet  the 
extraordinary  crisis  in  our  Territorial  affairs,  was  first  publicly 
advocated  by  us  in  a  short  speech  to  our  fellow  citizens,  over 
Messrs.  Duncan's  store,  on  the  iyth  of  October  last,  though  we 
had  previously  suggested  it  to  our  associate,  Mr.  Wattles.  Since 
then  we  have  been  unremitting  in  our  exertions  to  get  an  extra 
session  convened,  and  on  Monday  last,  had  a  long  interview  with 
Acting  Gov.  Stanton  on  the  subject,  and  drew  up  in  our  own 
hand  the  application,  since  signed  by  the  members  of  the  Legisla 
tive  Assembly,  as  also  the  indorsement  by  the  citizens  which  we 
led  off  in  signing,  asking  him  to  convene  that  body/' — Herald  of 
Freedom,  Dec.  5,  1857,  first  page,  eighth  column.  See  further  in 
this  direction,  closing  sentence  of  first  article,  third  page,  of  Nov. 
7;  also  second  column  and  closing  of  first  article  on  fourth  column, 
Nov.  14;  and  second  page,  sixth  column,  of  Dec.  19,  article  headed, 
"Stealing  their  Thunder."  It  is  wonderful  to  see  what  claims  are 
set  up  for  others  in  this  direction.  See  John  Speer's  speech  pub 
lished  in  the  Kansas  Memorial,  p.  180. 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  121 

While  Gov.  Walker  was  yet  at  Leavenworth,  pre 
paratory  to  descending  the  Missouri,  he  was  waited 
upon  by  a  committee  from  Lawrence,  asking  him  to 
convene  the  newly  elected  Legislature.  He  declined, 
giving  as  a  reason  that  he  had  already  passed  the  re 
sponsibilities  of  the  executive  offce  to  Secretary  Stan- 
ton,  who,  by  virtue  of  the  Organic  Act,  would  be  Act 
ing  Governor  during  his  absence. 

Acting  Gov.  Stanton  was  beseiged  from  all  quar 
ters  for  a  like  purpose.  John  Speer,  in  his  reported 
speech  at  Bismarck  Grove,  September,  1879,  repre 
sented  that  Col.  Eldridge  was  instrumental  in  secur 
ing  a  promise,  on  certain  conditions,  for  the  issuance 
of  the  desired  proclamation ;  and  that  he  carried  the 
petition  of  the  members  of  the  Legislature  to  the 
Governor  asking  his  action  in  the  premises.  It  is 
merely  possible  some  of  the  statements  made  by  Speer 
are  correct;  for  each  person  having  influence  with 
Mr.  Stanton,  was  doing  his  best  to  attain  that  end. 
The  facts,  however,  will  be  best  determined  when 
each  prominent  actor  shall  report  his  own  individual 
experience  in  that  direction.  As  Gov.  Stanton  was 
yet  living  when  these  pages  were  first  published,  I 
took  the  more  pleasure  in  stating  what  I  knew  about 
it,  and  appealed  to  him  to  correct  me  if  I  misrepre 
sented  in  the  slightest  degree.* 

^Secretary  Stanton  was  born  in  Alexandria,  D.  C.,  December 
22,  1814,  and  died  in  Ocala,  Florida,  June  4,  1894.  He  was  a  man 
of  sterling  ability,  a  lawyer  by  education,  and  for  a  time  a  Repre 
sentative  in  Congress  from  Tennessee.  Me  identified  himself  with 
the  Free  State  party  during  its  closing  days,  and,  like  Gov. 
Walker,  was  a  faithful  supporter  of  the  Constitution  and  the 
Union,  in  opposition  to  the  political  heresies  of  Secession.  A  let 
ter  from  him  in  the  Appendix  indorses  such  facts  as  are  herein 
stated  as  came  under  his  observation. 


122  REMINISCENCES   OF 

A  petition  was  drawn  up  asking  Gov.  Stanton  to 
convene  the  Legislature.  It  was  professedly  signed 
by  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  Legislature, 
many  of  whose  names,  however,  were  signed  to  it  by 
Lane,  as  the  members  were  scattered  over  the  Terri 
tory,  and  were  difficult  of  access.  That  fact  was  well 
known  to  Gov.  Stanton.  The  instrument,  instead  of 
being  carried  to  the  Governor  by  Col.  Eldridge,  was 
carried  by  Capt.  Samuel  Walker,  who,  by  the  way, 
was  living  in  Lawrence,  a  distant  relative  of  Gov. 
Walker,  when  these  pages  were  originally  published. 
After  receiving  it,  Gov.  Stanton  called  at  my  office, 
and  we  had  a  long  conversation  in  regard  to  an  extra 
session.  I  urged  the  necessity  of  it,  and  pressed  the 
point  with  all  the  logic  I  could  muster.  He  agreed 
with  me  as  to  the  necessity  of  such  a  measure,  and 
thought  it  the  most  effective  weapon  which  could  be 
employed  in  Congress  to  defeat  that  Constitution;  to 
show  by  a  legal  vote  of  the  people  that  nineteen- twen 
tieths  of  them  are  opposed  to  it;  but,  he  urged:  "So 
soon  as  intelligence  shall  reach  Washington  of  official 
action  in  that  direction,  my  head  will  be  lopped  off, 
and  I  shall  be  deprived  of  further  power  to  aid  you." 

I  inquired  of  him  what  the  effect  would  be  if  the 
Kansas  correspondent  of  the  St.  Louis  Republican 
would  write  a  letter  to  that  journal  setting  forth  that 
the  people  were  terribly  convulsed  because  of  their 
fears  of  being  admitted  into  the  Union  under  that 
Constitution;  that  unless  something  was  done,  and 
immediately,  to  allay  the  excitement,  there  was  great 
probability  it  would  break  out  in  new  scenes  of  vio 
lence  and  disorder,  requiring  a  strong  military  force 
to  suppress  it;  that  the  Acting  Governor  was  well 


GOVERNOR    WALKER.  123 

advised  concerning  this  condition  of  things,  and  the 
pressure  is  so  great  and  the  danger  so  imminent  it  is 
probable  he  will  feel  compelled  to  grant  the  popular 
request,  and  issue  the  desired  proclamation.  He 
inquired : 

"Are  you  acquainted  with  this  correspondent?" 

"I  am." 

"How  soon  can  you  see  him?" 

"Within  a  very  short  time." 

"Do  you  think  he  will  be  able  to  write  the  letter 
proposed  by  two  o'clock  this  afternoon?" 

"I  think  so." 

"Get  him  to  write  it  and  let  me  see  it.  I  will  go  to 
dinner,  and  call  here  at  two  o'clock  promptly.  See  if 
he  can  insure  the  forwarding  of  an  advance  slip 
from  the  Republican  office  to  President  Buchanan. 
This  will  be  important." 

Gov.  Stanton  left  for  dinner,  and  the  letter  for  the 
Republican  was  written  during  his  absence. 

On  his  return  at  two  o'clock,  I  read  him  the  letter, 
which  appeared  a  few  days  after  in  the  St.  Louis 
Republican. 

"Have  you  any  objection  to  communicating  to  me 
the  name  of  this  correspondent?" 

"Sub  rosa,  Governor?" 

"Yes,  in  strictest  confidence,  if  required." 

"It  is  granted  you  on  that  condition.  I  have  had 
the  honor  of  acting  in  that  capacity  for  the  last  month 
or  more." 

"Well,  I  am  astonished!  Gov.  Walker  and  I  have 
talked  this  matter  over  several  times,  but  we  could 
not  arrive  at  any  satisfactory  conclusion  as  to  the 
author  of  those  letters.  He  was  as  nruch  unknown 


124  REMINISCENCES   OF 

to  us  as  the  author  of  the  Junius  letters.  We  agreed 
it  was  some  person  in  our  confidence,  as  also  in  the 
confidence  of  the  leaders  of  the  Free  State  party,  and 
somebody  who  was  not  afraid  to  tell  the  truth.  We 
guessed  everybody  but  you.  The  fact  that  you  had 
not  the  aid  of  your  associate  for  a  long  time,  and  your 
editorial  columns  were  so  full,  we  supposed  it  would 
be  impossible  for  you  to  do  any  outside  work." 

The  Governor  thanked  me  for  having  done  him 
and  Governor  Walker  full  justice  in  all  these  letters; 
that  they  had  given  them  backbone  as  they  were  seen 
floating  through  the  press,  with  the  almost  entire 
commendation  of  all  parties. 

"And  you  will  forward  this  by  first  mail  to  the 
Republican,  and  write  the  editor  to  send  a  corrected 
proof-slip  to  the  President.  And  will  you  embody 
the  substance  of  it  in  your  forthcoming  paper?" 

"I  will." 

"Your  paper  is  dated  on  Saturday?" 

"Yes;  but  I  go  to  press  on  Friday."  I  think  this 
was  on  Thursday. 

"Do  so,  and  I  will  come  down  on  Tuesday  next  and 
issue  a  proclamation,  provided  I  can  have  satisfactory 
assurance  that  the  Legislature,  when  so  convened, 
will  limit  its  action  to  merely  submitting  the  Lecomp- 
ton  Constitution  to  a  vote  of  all  the  people." 

The  article  referred  to  appeared  as  a  part  of  the 
leader  in  the  issue  of  the  Herald  of  Freedom  of  Nov. 
21,  '57.  In  the  concluding  paragraph  we  said,  in 
italics:  "We  have  not  a  doubt  but  the  Legislature 
will  be  convened."  In  our  issue  of  Dec.  5th,  first 
page,  third  column,  we  quoted  the  petition  of  the 
members  of  the  Legislature,  including  those  "simu- 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  125 

lated"  by  Lane,  and  also  an  agreement,  drawn  up  by 
myself,  and  signed,  "G.  W.  Brown,  G.  W.  Smith,  C. 
Robinson,  J.  H.  Lane,  and  upwards  of  one  hundred 
other  leading  citizens,"  concurring  with  the  petition 
ers  in  the  importance  of  convening  the  Legislature. 

[John  Speer  said,  in  his  Bismarck  Grove  speech: 
"Gen.  Jas.  H.  Lane  commenced  a  canvass  of  the  Ter 
ritory,  holding  meetings  to  urge  the  Governor  to  call 
the  Legislature  in  extra  session,  to  provide  for  a  fair 
vote  on  the  Lecompton  constitution.  He  traversed 
the  Territory,  sometimes  on  horseback,  sometimes  on 
foot,  addressing  assemblies  in  villages,  in  school- 
houses,  and  under  the  trees."  The  facts  were,  as  the 
reported  proceedings  of  those  meetings  will  show, 
he  was  laboring  to  induce  the  members  to  meet  in 
voluntary  session  at  "Lecompton,  on  the  3d  day  of 
December,  to  suggest  such  measures  and  adopt  such 
action  as  the  crisis  demands."  He  had  been  elected 
Senator  under  the  Topeka  Constitution,  and  every 
movement  of  his,  as  we  can  furnish  abundant  proof, 
was  looking  toward  a  setting  in  motion  of  that  gov 
ernment,  hoping  through  the  turmoil  induced  by  it  he 
would  rise  to  higher  prominence.  The  proposed 
action,  through  Gov.  Stanton,  was  not  of  his  origina 
tion  ;  but  he  came  into  the  support  of  the  measure,  as 
he  did  of  sundry  others,  when  his  own  pet  schemes 
failed,  and  his  partisan  friends  would  always  repre 
sent  him  as  the  father  of  the  idea.  The  reader  will 
excuse  this  digression  in  the  interest  of  truth.  ] 

The  proclamation  was  published  on  Tuesday,  in  an 
extra  of  the  Lecompton  Democrat,  and  the  Legisla 
ture,  agreeably  to  its  provisions,  assembled  at  Lecomp 
ton  on  the  7th  of  December. 


126  REMINISCENCES   OF 

That  body  was  formally  organized,  after  which  an 
act  was  passed  submitting  the  Constitution  to  a  vote 
of  the  electors  on  the  4th  day  of  January,  1858,  the 
same  day  and  at  the  same  places  the  election  was  to 
be  held  for  officers  under  the  Constitution,  but  with 
different  judges  and  clerks.  An  act  was  also  passed 
making  provisions  against  fraudulent  voting;  and,  in 
defiance  of  the  solemn  written  pledge  of  the  members 
of  the  Legislature,  endorsed  by  Gen.  Lane,  a  law  was 
enacted  over  the  Governor's  veto,  providing  for  a  Mil 
itary  Board,  with  Lane  at  the  head.  This  bill  was 
engineered  through  by  Lane  and  his  friends,  to  the 
lasting  discredit  of  all  concerned  in  it. 


XIX. 


The  Contest  Begins. 

(J7TLL  OUR  advices  from  Washington  showed  con- 
"^J  clusively  that  the  friends  of  Free  Kansas 
had  nothing  to  hope  from  that  quarter.  The 
President,  in  his  annual  message,  on  the  assembling 
of  Congress,  showed  that  his  sympathy  was  with  the 
framers  of  the  bogus  Constitution. 

A  Free  State  delegate  convention,  which  proved  the 
largest  ever  held  in  the  Territory,  was  called  by  the 
joint  action  of  G.  W.  Smith,  Chairman  of  the  Ter. 
Ex.  Com.,  and  G.  W.  Hutchinson,  Chairman  of  the 
State  Ex.  Com.,  to  be  held  at  Lawrence  on  the  2d 
of  December,  "to  take  into  consideration  the  present 
political  situation  of  the  Territory."  This  body  was 
organized  with  Charles  Eobinson  as  President.  By 
resolutions  it  declared  that  everything  connected  with 
the  Lecompton  Constitution  from  its  inception  was  a 
swindle,  and  that  the  people  would  gain  nothing  by 
voting  down  the  fraudulent  provisions  relating  to  sla 
very;  that,  taking  into  consideration  the  whole  facts, 
it  was  not  advisable  to  participate  in  the  election  of 
the  21st  of  December.  This  position  was  unani 
mously  adopted  by  the  press  and  people. 

The  Herald  of  Freedom,  while  it  coincided  fully 
with  the  action  of  the  Convention,  as  far  as  expressed 
in  that  direction,  insisted  that  it  was  our  duty  to 
engage  in  the  election  for  officers  under  it,  on  the  4th 
of  January;  that  we  had  the  power  to  elect  them; 


128  REMINISCENCES   OF 

that  by  getting  control  of  the  offices,  even  if  Congress 
should  admit  us  a  State,  we  could  refuse  to  organize 
under  it;  or  if  it  was  deemed  wise  to  organize,  we 
could  call  a  new  Convention  and  frame  a  new  Consti 
tution  to  meet  our  wishes,  and  that  in  disregard  of 
the  ten  years'  restriction  prohibiting  its  amendment. 

These  positions  were  pressed  with  such  force  by 
editorials  and  communications,  and  the  active  work 
ers  in  our  Free  State  organization  were  so  clamorous 
in  this  direction,  the  Chairman  of  the  Territorial 
Executive  Committee,  who  had  been  authorized  to 
re-convene  the  Convention,  if  the  public  exigency 
demanded  it,  determined  to  do  so,  and  issued  the  call 
for  it  to  re-assemble  at  Lawrence  on  the  23d  of 
December. 

The  body  came  together  in  the  Congregational 
Church,  in  West  Lawrence,  at  10  o'clock  on  Wednes 
day.  As  many  of  the  organized  counties  were  with 
out  delegates,  the  letter-writers  and  their  sympathi 
zers  appeared  in  force,  and  claimed  seats.  This  was 
very  readily  granted.  Then  it  was  proposed  the  del 
egate  or  delegates  acting  for  a  county  should  be  enti 
tled  to  cast  the  full  vote  of  such  county.  By  this 
provision,  the  control  of  the  convention  passed  into 
the  hands  of  those  who  had  opposed  the  voting  pol 
icy  from  the  beginning.  On  the  afternoon  of  Thurs 
day,  the  24th,  the  yeas  and  nays  were  called,  when  47 
delegates  voted  in  favor  of  participating  in  the  elec 
tion  for  officers,  and  44  against  doing  so.  This  major 
ity  of  names  embraced  the  old,  substantial,  self-sacri 
ficing  hard  workers,  from  the  first  settlement  of  the 
Territory,  who  had  labored  in  season  and  out  of  sea 
son  to  make  Kansas  free.  Opposed  to  them  were  the 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  129 

members  of  Gen.  Lane's  secret  organization,  his 
indorsers,  their  sympathizers,  and  the  radical  corres 
pondents  of  the  eastern  press.  Though  in  the  minor 
ity  in  numbers,  by  the  packing  of  the  Convention, 
and  voting  by  districts,  the  opponents  of  voting  had 
a  count  of  75  nays  to  64  ayes. 

And  this  result  was  reached  by  an  artful  ruse  of 
Gen.  Lane  and  his  backers,  which  is  worthy  of  note 
in  this  connection.  Just  as  the  vote  was  being  taken, 
Gen.  E.  B.  Whitman  appeared  on  the  scene,  and 
asked  to  be  heard.  He  represented  that  he  had  left 
the  camp  of  Gen.  Lane,  near  Sugar  Mound,  in  South 
eastern  Kansas,  on  Tuesday  night,  at  nine  o'clock; 
that  he  had  ridden  continually,  changing  horses  four 
times,  having  been  twenty  hours  in  the  saddle;  that 
he  had  traveled  one  hundred  miles,  stopping  to  eat 
but  one  meal  on  the  whole  route,  to  bring  the  Conven 
tion  the  intelligence.  He  said  Gen.  Lane  had  about 
two  hundred  men  under  his  command;  that  he  had  a 
strong  position;  was  well  supplied  with  provisions, 
and  was  expecting  an  attack  the  next  day  from  one 
hundred  United  States  troops  and  a  large  force  of 
Missouriaiis.  He  further  stated  that  Gen.  Lane  had 
issued  a  proclamation  stating  that  war  had  been  made 
upon  the  peaceful,  unoffending  inhabitants,  and  that 
he  had  consented  to  take  command  of  the  people,  at 
their  urgent  solicitation,  to  resist  aggression;  that  all 
persons  taken  in  arms  from  Missouri,  who  were 
arrayed  against  the  people  of  Kansas,  would  be  put 
to  death;  that  he  is  only  acting  on  the  defensive,  and 
when  the  attempt  at  subjugation  shall  be  abandoned, 
his  command  will  return  to  their  ordinary  avoca 
tions. 


130  REMINISCENCES   OF 

Gen.  Whitman  went  on  to  say,  that  persons  were 
marching  forward  from  all  parts  of  the  Territory  to 
the  scene  of  excitement,  to  stand  or  fall  with  Gen. 
Lane  and  his  brave  command.  He  represented  the 
danger  as  imminent,  and  the  probability  is  that  the 
contest  will  become  general.  After  this  statement  he 
proceeded  to  harangue  the  Convention,  charging  them 
with  wasting  their  time  over  a  question  of  no  import 
ance  whatever,  while  the  real  battle  was  being  fought 
between  freedom  and  slavery  in  Southern  Kansas. 
"This  is  no  time  for  hair-splitting  questions,"  said 
he,  "but  it  is  the  moment  for  brave  and  vigorous 
action." 

The  frenzied  orator  was  doubtless  familiar  with 
Homer's  Iliad,  and  gave  in  his  own  words  Book  II, 
lines  966  to  971: 

"Cease  to  consult;  the  time  for  action  calls; 
War,  horrid  war,  approaches  to  your  walls! 
Assembled  armies  oft  have  I  beheld, 
But  ne'er  till  now  such  numbers  charged  afield. 
Thick  as  autumnal  leaves,  or  driving  sand, 
The  moving  squadrons  blacken  all  the  strand." 

Whitman's  wild  manner  and  excitement  were 
extended  to  the  audience.  Hinton,  falsely  represent 
ing  Breckenridge  county,  being  a  resident  of  Law 
rence,  sprang  upon  a  seat  and  called  for  three  cheers 
for  Gen.  Lane.  The  vote  was  taken  immediately  fol 
lowing  this  episode,  with  the  results  stated. 

After  packing  the  Convention  on  Wednesday,  it 
was  very  apparent  the  result  desired  would  be  at 
tained.  On  that  evening  about  thirty  members  of  the 
Convention  held  a  meeting  at  the  Herald  of  Freedom 
office,  when  the  situation  was  discussed,  and  the  fact 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  131 

was  shown  that  the  Convention  was  controlled  by  a 
secret  organization,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Gen. 
Lane,  Whitman  being  understood  as  second  in  rank. 
This  fact  was  demonstrated  a  day  or  two  after  Whit 
man's  crazy  speech,  by  the  redoubtable  General,  who 
was  "on  the  eve  of  fighting  the  United  States  troops," 
appearing  on  the  streets  of  Lawrence  congratulating 
his  friends  on  the  result  of  the  Convention.  Those 
thirty  men,  before  mentioned,  resolved  that  the  peo 
ple  were  not  willing  to  remain  inactive;  that  all  they 
needed  was  a  ticket,  composed  of  tried  and  true  men, 
who  could  be  trusted  to  take  charge  of  the  Lecomp- 
ton  Constitution  and  destroy  it.  They  instructed  W. 
Y.  Roberts,  who  was  one  of  their  number,  to 
announce  from  the  platform,  immediately  after  the 
result  should  be  reached,  if  adverse  to  voting,  that  all 
who  were  in  favor  of  putting  a  ticket  in  the  field,  and 
would  sustain  such  ticket,  to  meet  at  Masonic 
Hall,  at  seven  o'clock  that  evening,  for  such  action. 
Mr.  Roberts  accepted  the  trust. 

On  my  way  to  the  Convention,  on  Thursday  morn 
ing,  I  fell  in  with  Thomas  Ewing,  Jr.,  of  Leaven- 
worth.  He  was  a  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Ewing, 
Sherman,  and  Denman — the  afterwards  Gen.  W.  T. 
Sherman,  so  well  known  to  the  whole  country — and 
Mr.  Ewiiig,  with  a  Major  General's  commission,  also 
distinguished  himself  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  as 
since  on  the  floor  of  Congress.  He  said  he  had  a  let 
ter  from  his  father,  the  Hon.  Thos.  Ewing,  of  Ohio, 
that  his  father  was  of  the  opinion  we  would  be  admit 
ted  into  the  Union  by  act  of  Congress,  under  the 
Lecompton  Constitution;  that  the  only  instrumental 
ity  remaining  in  our  hands  to  make  Kansas  free,  was 


132  REMINISCENCES   OF 

to  get  possession  of  the  offices  under  that  Constitu 
tion,  then  we  must  change  the  instrument  through  a 
convention  called  by  the  Legislature,  and  make  one 
to  meet  our  will.  He  said  he  was  very  anxious  the 
people  should  engage  in  a  contest  for  the  offices,  and 
it  would  require  hard  work  to  organize  in  the  short 
time  remaining  until  the  election;  but  he  would  give 
the  committee  in  charge  of  the  duty  $200  to  pay  for 
tickets  and  the  expense  of  organizing  for  the  brief 
campaign. 

When  the  result  of  the  vote  was  announced  in  the 
Convention,  I  made  my  way  direct  to  Mr.  Koberts, 
and  requested  him  to  make  the  announcement  agreed 
upon  the  night  before.  He  said  the  feeling  of  the 
people  was  such  it  would  be  useless  to  put  in  nomina 
tion  a  ticket.  I  labored  earnestly  with  him,  but  he 
positively  declined  to  act.  I  next  called  on  Gen.  S. 
C.  Pomeroy,  who  was  also  with  us.  He  expressed 
great  sorrow  for  the  result;  thought  now  there  was 
no  doubt  Kansas  would  be  a  slave  State,  and  that  all 
our  efforts  to  the  contrary  would  prove  a  failure.  I 
asked  him  to  make  the  announcement.  He,  too, 
declined.  I  next  found  P.  C.  Schuyler,  of  Burlin- 
game,  and  begged  him  to  give  the  notice.  With  tears 
streaming  down  his  cheeks,  and  his  voice  half  sup 
pressed  with  emotion,  he  said:  "Kansas  is  lost,  lost 
to  freedom !  Nothing  remains  to  us  but  to  pack  our 
goods  and  leave  the  Territory  to  its  fate."  Dr.  Jas. 
Davis,  of  Leavenworth,  also  one  of  the  thirty, 
refused,  and  desponded  as  to  the  future. 

The  convention  was  rapidly  breaking  up,  and  mem 
bers  were  leaving,  though  an  adjournment  had  not 
been  declared.  I  was  almost  wild  with  anxiety.  In 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  133 

this  dilemma  I  met  Mr.  Ewing — Kansans,  let  his 
name  be  immortal!  I  hurriedly  told  him  what  I  had 
done,  and  of  the  answers.  Said  Ewing: 

"Who  of  these  showed  the  most  feeling  in  the 
premises?" 

"Judge  Schuyler." 

"Where  is  he?" 

Getting  upon  a  seat,  and  looking  over  the  heads,  I 
saw  his  fine  manly  form,  and  pointed  him  out  to 
Ewing. 

"Come  with  me,"  was  his  response,  and  we  were 
soon  by  Schuyler 's  side.  Ewing,  addressing  Judge 
S.,  said: 

"Come  with  us."  Turning  to  me,  "Who  next  has 
the  most  interest  in  this  matter?" 

"Gen.  Pomeroy:" 

We  soon  found  him,  and  Dr.  Davis,  and  to  all 
"Come  with  us,"  was  Mr.  Ewing's  imperative  com 
mand.  Without  a  word  of  explanation  we  moved  in 
a  body,  under  the  command  of  a  master  mind,  to 
Gov.  Koberts,  whom  Ewing  addressed: 

"Why  don't  you  make  the  announcement  you  agreed 
to  last  night?" 

"It  is  no  use." 

"This  is  not  the  time  to  discuss  that  question.  You 
agreed,  as  a  gentleman,  last  night,  to  make  the 
announcement,  and  we  now  want  you  to  do  it.  Say, 
if  you  prefer,  that  you  are  requested  to  do  so.  You 
need  not  assume  any  responsibility  if  you  don't  wish 
to." 

Gov.  Eoberts  stepped  to  the  stand,  called  the  meet 
ing,  still  in  confusion,  to  order,  and  made  the  desired 
statement. 


134  REMINISCENCES   OF 

Reader,  your  pardon;  but  I  know  you  will  excuse 
the  narration  of  an  incident  occurring  at  this  mo 
ment,  which  I  look  back  upon  through  the  long  years 
since  then  with  sadness  and  with  pleasure,  and  which, 
in  its  consequences,  the  human  mind  is  incapable  of 
fathoming. 

Gov.  Chas.  Robinson  and  myself  had  been  es 
tranged  since  the  3d  of  July,  1856.  We  had  fallen 
out  while  prisoners  in  camp.  The  letter-writers  had 
subsequently  fanned  our  private  differences  into  a 
public  flame.  Like  such  feuds  generally,  ours  was 
but  a  trifling  one  to  begin  "with,  and  if  let  alone 
would  have  remained  so.  For  nearly  eighteen  months 
we  had  not  spoken  to  nor  recognized  each  other.  He 
presided  at  the  Convention  whose  history  we  have 
just  written.  A  delegate  from  the  Lawrence  district, 
his  vote  was  recorded  in  favor  of  participating  in  the 
election,  and  he  made  a  short  but  very  earnest  and 
impressive  speech  in  the  same  direction. 

With  Mr.  Roberts'  announcement  of  the  proposed 
evening  meeting,  the  convention  was  adjourned,  and 
Gov.  Robinson  came  down  from  the  stand,  passing 
through  the  aisles,  and  reached  the  vestibule,  where 
I  met  him,  with  an  extended  hand,  and  said  with  a 
choking  voice: 

"Governor,  can  we  forget  our  personal  quarrels  for 
a  time,  and  work  together  for  the  freedom  of  Kansas?" 

The  Governor  seemed  touched  at  a  tender  point. 
Looking  through  moistened  eyes,  and  showing  much 
emotion,  he  responded: 

"I  guess  so." 

We  walked  to  a  window,  exchanged  a  few  hurried 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  135 

ideas  as  to  the  immediate  future,  and  separated. 
While  I  concede  so  much  to  Thomas  Ewiiig,  Jr., 
which  I  shall  more  fully  delineate  in  my  next  chap 
ter,  without  Charles  Kobinson's  hearty  co-operation 
from  that  time  forth,  I  firmly  believe  Kansas  would 
be  a  slave  Sfate  to-day,  with  all  fhose  new  States  and 
Territories  lying  west  and  north  of  her  to  the  Pacific, 
as  well  as  those  at  the  south  which  were  such  at  the 
time  of  the  Great  Rebellion! 

And  here  the  reader  will  allow  me,  in  closing  this 
chapter,  to  say,  that  the  private  animosities  of 
CHARLES  EOBINSON  and  G.  W.  BROWN  were  thus  oblit 
erated  from  our  earnest  determination  to  make  Kan 
sas  free.  It  is  hoped  the  recording  angel  dropped  a 
tear  upon  the  record  of  our  foolish  quarrel,  and 
effaced  it  forever  from  his  tablet.  May  the  Gover 
nor's  life  be  prolonged  until  a  truthful  history  of 
Kansas  shall  be  wrjtten,  when  his  name  shall  receive 
the  just  reward  of  Fame,  so  richly  merited.* 

*Gov,  CHARLES  ROBINSON  died  at  his  home  of  Oakridge,  near 
Lawrence,  Kansas,  August  17,  1894,  aged  76  years,  universally 
lamented.  See  a  sketch  of  the  Ciovernor's  Life  by  Prof.  Can- 
field,  in  the  Appendix. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

"Brown's  Cellar  Kitchen  Convention." 

in  favor  of  nominating  a  ticket  under 
the  pro-slavery  Constitution,  to  be  voted  for  on 
the  4th  of  January,  1858,  assembled  at  Masonic  Hall, 
over  Woodward  &  Finley's  drug  store,  on  Thursday 
evening,  Dec.  24th,  at  7  o'clock,  Dr.  Davis,  of  Leav- 
enworth,  in  the  chair. 

The  attendance  was  quite  large,  much  greater  than 
was  expected.  The  President  called  on  the  writer  to 
state  the  object  of  the  meeting,  which  he  did  at 
length,  though  in  the  reported  proceedings  the  lan 
guage  was  credited  to  the  chair,  for  effect  abroad. 
Near  its  conclusion  a  wild,  hooting,  disorderly  rabble 
came  streaming  into  the  hall,  filling  every  aisle  and 
vacant  place,  jumping  upon  seats,  and  cheering  at  the 
hight  of  their  voices.  They  were  led  by  the  press 
correspondents,  and  those  who  were  interested  in  pro 
longing  the  Kansas  strife.  They  were  young  adven 
turers;  intent  on  forcing  a  conflict  between  the  North 
and  South,  who  had  nothing  to  lose  but  everything 
to  gain  by  hastening  a  bloody  issue. 

Wonder  how  the  names  of  the  leaders  of  this 
"incipient  revolution"  would  appear  in  print,  in  the 
light  of  subsequent  events,  many  of  whom  are  still 
living  ?  Since  then  they  have  been  continually  labor 
ing  to  give  credit  for  the  grand  results  which  fol 
lowed,  to  those  who  absolutely  did  nothing  to  aid  in 
the  great  work  of  KESCUING  KANSAS  FEOM 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  137 

SLAVEEY,  but  positively  obstructed  the  labors  of 
others.  Like  Fame,  in  classic  story,  they  demand 
adoration  for  their  heroes,  and  are  ever  laboring  to 
falsify  those  who  oppose  their  claims.* 

Arranging  with  a  few  friends  near,  while  the  rabble 
was  the  most  furious,  each  made  his  way  to  a  light, 

*The  ancient  Romans  used  to  personify  nearly  every  idea,  and 
worship  it  as  a  deity.  They  had  a  goddess  whom  they  called  Kama, 
in  English  Fame  or  Renown.  She  was  represented  as  a  messen 
ger  from  Jupiter,  with  innumerable  wings  and  many  voices,  car 
rying  in  her  hand,  as  a  symbol  of  her  duties,  a  trumpet..  Virgil, 
who  knew  all  about  the  gods  and  goddesses,  having  written  while 
they  were  young,  savs  of  her: 

''Millions  of  open  mouths  to  Fame  belong, 
And  every  mouth  is  furnished  with  a  tongue." 

She  was  always  on  the  wing,  journeying  everywhere,  in  every 
land,  spreading  abroad  the  merits  of  those  she  would  reward. 
Those  she  wished  to  immortalize  she  sang  in  their  praise,  which 
she  repeated  ten  thousand  times.  Truth  and  Falsehood  alike 
furnished  themes  for  song.  These  she  taught  others  to  repeat, 
until  the  names  of  those  she  admired  were  on  every  tongue.  When 
a  hero  was  to  be  enshrined  she  knew  no  rest  until  her  end  was 
attained. 

Fame  has  devotees  in  our  day,  who  are  as  active  in  doing  her 
work  as  were  those  of  two  thousand  years  ago.  A  trumpet  blast 
is  pealed;  it  rings  out  on  the  startled  air;  Echo  catches  the  sound 
and  bears  it  on.  The  wide  globe  is  quite  too  small  for  her  labors, 
so  she  builds  another,  and  peoples  it  with  those  she  loves.  Those 
she  has  determined  to  laud  she  allows  no  one  to  defame.  Envy, 
Hatred,  Malice,  Falsehood,  and  Revenge  are  each  enlisted  in  her 
service,  to  destroy  the  influence  of  those  who  would  whisper  a 
word  against  the  fullest  accomplishment  of  her  desires.  Though 
no  longer  worshiped  as  a  goddess,  nor  are  chaplets  woven  for  her 
brow,  yet  she  still  does  service;  has  her  devotees;  enshrines  her 
heroes,  and  demands  their  adoration.  She  has  a  long  train  of  fol- 
loAvers,  each  repeating,  with  increased  fervor,  her  words  ot  adula 
tion,  and  each  is  laboring  to  crush  those  \vho  oppose  the  popular 
acclaim. 


138  REMINISCENCES   OF 

which,  at  a  concerted  signal,  was  extinguished,  leav 
ing  all  in  pitchy  darkness. 

Crowding  hurriedly  through  the  tumultuous  mob,  I 
reached  the  stairs  on  the  outside  of  the  building,  and 
at  the  foot,  looking  up,  it  being  star-light,  I  recog 
nized  many  of  our  friends  as  they  came  down,  to  all 
of  whom  I  said  in  a  low  voice:  "Go  at  once  to  the 
Herald  of  Freedom  building,  and  wait  in  front  my 
arrival."  When  all  had  descended  I  ran  to  the  office, 
less  than  a  block  away,  opened  a  basement  door,  and 
directed  those  there  to  enter,  though  all  was  dark. 
Procuring  lights,  the  windows  were  darkened  with 
paper.  [It  was  publicly  reported  and  published,  that 
I  stood  at  the  door  with  a  revolver,  and  threatened  to 
shoot  any  person  who  attempted  to  enter  without 
leave.  This,  however,  was  not  true.  No  one  who 
presented  himself  for  admission  was  refused.  ]  When 
all  were  in  the  doors  were  locked,  and  we  proceeded 
to  business.  There  were  sixty  persons  present,  names 
which  deserve  immortality.  A  large  number  of  others 
in  sympathy,  were  not  informed  of  the  new  place  of 
assembling,  and  of  course  were  not  with  us. 

S.  C.  Pomeroy,  P.  C.  Schuyler,  S.  N.  Wood,  H.  D. 
Hall,  John  Hanna,  A.  Appleman,  Judge  J.  D.  Pass- 
more,  E.  Heath,  Kobert  Morrow,  G.  W.  Zinn  and 
Judge  McKay  were  Vice  Preisdents,  with  Wm.  Aus 
tin,  of  the  Kansas  Leader,  and  D.  H.  Wier,  as  Secre 
taries.  Thomas  Ewiiig,  Jr.,  P.  C.  Schuyler,  F.  S. 
Lowman,  W.  Y.  Eoberts,  and  J.  K.  Goodin,  were 
appointed  a  committee  on  resolutions. 

Resolutions  were  reported  by  the  committee  favor 
able  to  participating  in  the  election,  and  of  nomina 
ting  a  ticket.  Among  these  was  one  declaring  the 


GOVERNOR    WALKER.  139 

candidates  would  be  considered  "pledged,"  should  the 
constitution  be  approved  by  Congress,  to  adopt  and 
execute  immediate  measures  for  enabling  the  people 
through  another  convention,  to  obtain  such  a  consti 
tution  as  the  majority  shall  approve.  And  another, 
"That  should  Congress  admit  Kansas  a  State  under 
that  unsubmitted  constitution,  it  will  commit  a  gross 
infraction  of  the  organic  law  of  the  Territory,  and  of 
the  rights  of  the  people." 

It  was  at  first  proposed  to  nominate  Hon.  Fred.  P. 
Stanton  for  Governor,  but  he  thought,  with  others, 
that  it  was  not  wise  to  do  so,  as  it  was  presumed  there 
were  many  good  men  who  were  yet  ignorant  of  his 
earnest  hostility  to  the  constitution,  and  that  his  posi 
tion  would  be  falsified  by  the  radical  press.  The 
ticket  was  finally  made  up  of  the  most  sterling  Free 
State  men  in  the  Territory,  to-wdt:  For  Governor,  G. 
W.  Smith;  Lieut  Gov.  W.  Y.  Eoberts;  Sec'y  of  State, 
P.  C.  Schuyler;  Treasurer,  A.  J.  Mead;  Auditor,  Joel 
K.  Goodin;  Representative  to  Congress,  Marcus  J. 
Parrott. 

A  Territorial  Committee,  with  S.  N.  Wood  as  chair 
man  was  appointed.  At  2  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
Christmas  Day,  "Brown's  Cellar  Kitchen  Conven 
tion,"  as  it  was  stigmatized  by  the  radicals,  adjourned 
for  work. 

I  had  instructed  my  foreman  in  the  newspaper 
department  to  have  full  cases  of  type  distributed,  and 
every  printer  at  his  post  for  prolonged  service. 

With  the  adjournment  of  the  Convention,  accom 
panied  by  Mr.  Thomas  Ewing,  Jr.,  I  ascended  to  the 
third  story  of  the  office,  not  stopping  at  the  sanctum 
on  the  2d  floor.  Taking  a  place  at  the  imposing 


140  REMINISCENCES   OF 

stone,  with  pencils  sharpened  in  quantity  from  thence 
on  by  Mr.  Ewing,  and  strips  of  paper  at  hand,  com 
menced  writing  up  the  proceedings  of  the  last  two 
eventful  days,  and  such  other  matter  as  would  bear 
upon  the  forthcoming  election.  Without  leaving  my 
place  for  any  purpose,  I  continued  to  write,  and  the 
printers  to  put  in  type  the  matter  thus  prepared, 
proofs  being  taken  as  galleys  were  filled,  which  were 
read  by  Mr.  Ewing.  corrected,  and  immediately  put 
into  form.  And  thus  we  labored  until  4  o'clock  p.  m., 
when  sixteen  newspaper  columns  were  prepared  and 
in  type.  At  5  o'clock  the  forms  were  on  the  power 
press,  which  was  running  at  its  highest  speed.* 

*"The  Herald  of  Freedom  helped  in  days  of  peril,  especially 
when  its  editorial  page  was  controlled  by  the  scholarly  wisdom 
and  comprehensive  insight  of  Augustus  Wattles."  So  said  a  self- 
styled  "Colonel,"  before  the  Kansas  State  Editorial  Association, 
at  Fort  Scott,  Jan.  23,  1900,  and  which  the  Kansas  Historical 
Society  has  deemed  so  valuable  as  to  copy  into  its  Historical  Col 
lections,  Vol.  6,  p.  371. 

It  may  be  proper  to  here  state,  that  Mr.  Wattles  was  less  than 
five  months  in  the  service  of  the  Herald  of  Freedom.  The  greater 
part  of  that  time  was  spent  in  collecting  the  material  and  writing 
the  History  of  Kansas,  which  appeared  on  the  first  page  of  the 
paper,  running  through  the  entire  period  Mr.  W.  served  us.  He 
never  "controlled"  the  editorial  columns  of  the  paper  for  a  single 
issue,  and  never  directed  its  policy. 

A  dozen  other  persons,  more  or  less,  are  named  by  the  same 
veracious  gentleman  as  contributors  to  the  editorial  columns  of 
the  paper,  among  whom  were  himself,  P.  B.  Plumb,  Thomas  A. 
Osborn,  S.  S.  Prouty,  etc.,  not  one  of  whom  ever  wrote  a  line  for 
the  paper  so  far  as  I  have  knowledge.  If  they  did  so  it  was  dur 
ing  my  temporary  absence  for  a  few  clays  from  the  office  in  select 
ing  the  town  site  of  Emporia.  They  were  typos  and  little  else. 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  141 

Mr.  Ewing  secured  horses  at  the  livery  stables, 
with  trusty  riders,  and  dispatched  them  to  all  parts  of 
the  Territory,  each  setting  out  on  his  particularly 
designated  route  as  soon  as  500  papers  conld  be 
printed  and  put  up  for  him,  the  most  distant  points 
being  first  supplied.  With  each  paper  there  were 
printed  on  the  margin  ten  tickets. 

We  thus  worked  off  fourteen  bundles — twenty- 
eight  reams — of  paper,  and  forwarded  them  by  mes 
sengers.  Gen.  Ewing  subsequently  told  me  he  paid 
from  his  own  pocket,  in  cash,  for  horses  and  riders  on 
that  occasion,  ELEVEN  HUNDRED  DOLLARS,  not  one  cent 
of  which  was  ever  refunded  to  him. 

My  own  individual  expenses  I  never  cared  to  foot 
up,  but  they  were  very  large.  Much  of  the  matter 
was  used  in  the  regular  edition  of  my  Saturday's 
paper,  so  all  was  not  lost;  besides  a  small  sum  was 
subscribed  to  meet  this  expense,  but,  like  such  sub 
scriptions  generally,  only  a  small  part  was  paid. 

But  seven  days,  excluding  Sunday,  and  the  reader 
well  knows  that  politicians  never  labor  on  that  sacred 
day,  remained  to  us  until  the  election,  and  we  had  a 
powerful  secret  organization  in  our  own  party  to  com 
bat,  who  exhausted  every  resource  they  possessed,  to 
keep  men  from  voting. 

Gov.  Eobinson  wrote  letters  to  Leaven  worth,  and 
all  points  he  could  readily  reach  by  mail  or  private 
hands,  begging  all  to  work  incessantly  till  the  last 
hour,  and  get  every  Free  State  man  to  the  polls,  to 
vote  down  the  constitution  with  one  hand,  and  officers 
under  it  with  the  other.  He  visited  Topeka  in  per 
son,  called  a  public  meeting,  and  addressed  it  in  the 


142  KEMINISCENCES    OF 

same  direction.  Night  and  day  until  after  the  election 
found  him  constantly  at  worki 

Gen.  Ewing,  aa  soon  as  he  had  dispatched  the 
papers,  and  made  arrangements  for  the  payment  of 
all  the  messenger  bills,  returned  to  Leavenworth  and 
organized  the  opposition  to  the  constitution  there, 
while  Gen.  Pomeroy  did  the  same  at  Atchison,  and 
Judge  Schuyler  at  Burlingame.  At  the  same  time 
each  member  of  the  Executive  Committee,  of  which 
there  were  seventeen,  scattered  all  over  the  Territory, 
under  the  general  direction  of  its  chairman,  S.  N. 
Wood,  was  active. 

The  Lawrence  Republican,  under  the  editorial 
management  of  T.  D.  Thacher,  headed  the  opposition 
to  voting.  "Brown's  Convention"  was  ridiculed  and 
treated  as  an  insignificant  affair;  "indorsed  by  a  few 
sore  heads  who  wanted  offices,  political  Judases,  who 
had  sold  out  the  party,  or  were  angered  because  they 
could  not  rule."  Those  of  our  Kansas  readers  who 
wish  to  see  a  specimen  of  newspaper  bitterness,  have 
only  to  consult  files  of  the  Eepublican,  and  two  or 
three  similar  papers,  where  they  will  find  it  ad  nau- 
seum. 

The  Free  State  voters  in  most  of  the  counties  put 
in  nomination  candidates  for  the  Legislature.  So 
strong  was  the  current  in  favor  of  the  "voting  policy" 
again,  at  a  delegate  convention  of  Douglas  county, 
held  at  Masonic  Hall  on  the  31st  of  December,  to 
nominate  candidates  for  the  Legislature,  under  that 
infamous  constitution,  Gen.  Jas.  H.  Lane,  who  was 
one  of  the  delegates,  and  who  had  opposed  with  so 
much  earnestness  the  taking  of  any  part  in  the  com 
ing  election,  and  who  resorted  to  such  a  disreputable 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  143 

ruse  to  carry  the  late  one,  in  opposition  to  voting, 
absolutely  presided  at  this  county  convention.  [See 
Herald  of  Freedom,  p.  2,  2d  col.,  of  date  Jan  2, 
1858.] 

We  have  neglected  to  state  that,  as  contemplated  by 
Secretary  Stanton,  he  was  removed  by  the  President, 
notice  of  which,  however,  did  not  reach  him  until 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  extra  session  of  the  Leg 
islature.  The  reason  given  for  such  removal  was  for 
his  convening  that  body.  Gen.  J.  W.  Denver,  of  Cal 
ifornia,  who  was  011  his  way  to  Kansas  from  Wash 
ington,  on  some  executive  business  pertaining  to 
Indian  affairs,  was  his  successor,  arriving  at  Lecomp- 
ton  on  the  17th  of  December.  He  entered  at  once  on 
the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  Secretary  and  Acting 
Governor.  In  the  latter  capacity,  a  few  days  after 
his  arrival,  he  issued  a  proclamation  calling  attention 
to  the  recent  acts  of  the  Legislature  submitting  the 
constitution  to  a  vote  of  the  people,  and  another  in 
regard  to  fraudulent  voting,  with  an  expression  of  a 
determination  to  bring  every  offender  against  the  lat 
ter  statute  to  speedy  justice.  Though  understood  to 
be  pro-slavery  in  his  views,  yet  he  openly  expressed 
himself  in  full  sympathy  with  the  positions  of  both 
Gov.  Walker  and  the  late  Secretary.  Like  preceding 
Governors,  he  was  soon  on  amicable  terms  with  the 
conservative  wing  of  the  Free  State  party.  Secretary 
Denver  was  commissioned  Governor  in  May,  1858, 
and  remained  in  the  Territory  till  November  7th, 
when  he  resigned  and  returned  to  Washington,  car 
rying  with  him  the  good  wishes  of  the  whole  popu 
lation. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Condensed  History. 

fT  IS  not  my  purpose  to  follow  future  events  relat 
ing  to  the  Lecompton  Constitution  in  detail,  as 
histories  of  these  are  already  before  the  public,  and 
are  accessible  to  all. 

At  the  election  011  the  21st  of  December,  there 
were  returned  6.143  votes  as  cast  "For  the  constitu 
tion  with  Slavery,''  and  569  "For  the  Constitution 
without  Slavery."  A  very  large  majority  of  these 
votes  were  fraudulent.  Indeed,  it  is  questionable  if 
they  had  to  exceed  1,000  honest  votes  in  the  Ter 
ritory. 

At  the  election  under  the  Territorial  law,  on  the 
4th  of  January,  in  which  the  Free  State  men  par 
ticipated,  there  were  returned  and  counted  by  Acting 
Governor  Denver,  assisted  by  Messrs.  Babcock  and 
Deitzler,  President  of  the  Council  and  Speaker  of  the 
House,  "Against  the  Constitution,"  10,226;  ''For  the 
Constitution  with  Slavery,"  138  ^  "For  the  Constitu 
tion  without  Slavery,"  23. 

At  the  election  for  officers  under  provision  of  the 
constitution,  held  on  the  same  day  and  place  with  the 
election  of  the  4th  of  January,  but  with  different 
judges  and  ballot-boxes,  notwithstanding  over  3,000 
fraudulent  votes  were  returned,  1,266  of  which  were 
from  the  populous  city  of  Oxford;  729  from  Shawnee, 
another  unimportant  place  in  Johnson  county;  and 


GOVERNOR  WALKER.  145 

1,017  fromRickapoo,  all  of  which  were  counted  by 
Calhoun,  yet  the  entire  Free  State  ticket,  nominated 
at  "Brown's  Cellar  Kitchen  Convention,"  was  tri 
umphantly  elected  by  majorities  over  and  above  all 
these  frauds,  ranging  from  301  to  696.  The  Free 
State  party  also  elected  29  members  of  the  House,  to 
the  pro-slavery  15 ;  and  13  members  of  the  Senate,  to 
pro-slavery  6. 

With  this  state  of  affairs  the  people  of  Kansas  now 
felt  secure  against  the  final  effects  of  any  policy  that 
thereafter  might  be  adopted,  either  in  Congress  or 
out  of  it,  touching  their  future. 

I  would  love  to  give  a  chapter  to  the  "Candle-box 
Fraud,"  wherein  the  election  returns  were  deposited 
by  Maclean  and  his  coadjutors,  then  buried  out  of 
doors  under  a  wood-pile,  to  keep  them  from  the  reach 
of  the  Territorial  Legislative  Committee,  and  of  their 
being  unearthed  and  given  to  the  committee  by  the 
intrepid  Col.  Samuel  Walker,  as  well  as  of  various 
other  criminal  devices  of  the  pro-slavery  leaders  to 
further  defeat  the  popular  will;  but  I  fear  the  reader 
is  wearying  with  our  prolonged  history.  The  facts, 
however,  are  in  reach  of  the  general  public,  through 
the  reports  of  the  committee,  appointed  specially  to 
inquire  into  these  frauds,  which  they  did  in  a  mas 
terly  way, — Thomas  Ewing,  Jr.,  being  chairman  and 
the  most  active  member  of  that  committee.* 

*Since  these  pages  were  originally  written  Gen,  Ewing  pub 
lished  in  the  Cosmopolitan  Magazine,  and  subsequently  in  a 
pamphlet,  a  full  account  of  the  unearthing  of  that  Candle-Box 
Fraud,  with  a  general  account  of  the  Convention  which  paved  the 
way  to  it.  Being  so  very  important  we  feel  justified  in  transfer 
ring  much  of  it  to  these  pages.  It  will  be  found  in  the  Ap 
pendix,  with  a  sketch  of  his  life. 


146  REMINISCENCES  OF 

On  the  2d  of  February,  1858,  President  Buchanan 
sent  a  special  message  to  Congress,  with  the  Lecomp- 
ton  Constitution,  and  recommended  the  admission  of 
Kansas  into  the  Union  as  a  State  under  that  instru 
ment.  Mr.  Douglas,  in  the  Senate,  made  a  masterly 
exposure  of  the  frauds  which  had  characterized  its 
history  from  the  beginning,  and  led  the  opposition  to 
it  until  its  final  defeat. 

Gov.  Walker  was  equally  faithful  in  organizing  and 
shaping  resistance  at  Washington,  and  elsewhere,  to 
secure  its  overthrow.  Secretary  Stanton,  immediately 
after  the  returns  of  the  4th  of  January  election  were 
received  at  Lecompton,  procured  certified  copies  and 
proceeded  with  them  to  Washington  where  he  joined 
Gov.  Walker,  and  made  an  earnest  personal  appeal  to 
members  of  Congress,  with  whom  he  had  formerly 
associated  as  a  member  of  that  body,  to  defeat  the 
fraud. 

In  April  the  opposition  had  become  so  strong,  Mr. 
English,  of  Indiana,  introduced  into  the  House,  what 
he  called  a  "compromise  bill,"  for  the  admission  of 
the  State.  It  contained  many  obnoxious  provisions, 
and  afterwards  became  a  law,  but  as  it  submitted  the 
question  to  a  vote  of  the  people  under  just  and 
proper  restrictions,  which  ensured  fairness,  no  anxi 
ety  was  felt  for  the  result. 

The  election  was  held  under  the  English  bill,  as  it 
was  popularly  called,  on  the  2d  of  August,  1858, 
which  resulted  in  a  vote  of  1,788  for  the  proposition, 
to  11,300  against  it.  A  proclamation  was  issued  by 
the  proper  officers,  declaring  it  rejected,  and  thus 
ended  forever  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  and  its 
power  to  enslave  a  free  people. 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  147 

From  the  day  the  Free  State  officers  were  elected 
under  that  constitution  its  former  friends  lost  hope 
in  it.  Aside  from  additional  efforts  at  fraud,  they 
almost  wholly  abandoned  further  attempts  to  fasten 
it  on  the  people.  Indeed,  they  had  little  motive  for 
making  other  attempts  in  that  direction,  for  it  was 
clearly  apparent  with  Free  State  officers  to  adminis 
ter  it, — it  could  no  longer  be  used  as  an  instrumen 
tality  to  advance  the  interests  of  slavery. 

Hon.  C.  B.  Lines,  at  Bismarck  Grove,  September, 
'79,  used  this  language  in  regard  to  this  movement 
which  placed  that  Constitution  in  Free  State  hands: 

"A  few  of  our  excellent  Free  State  men,  led  by 
Geo.  W.  Brown  into  the  basement  of  his  office, 
deemed  it  best  to  get  up  a  ticket,  and  elect  it  if  pos 
sible;  and  they  did  so;  but  the  vote  was  by  no  means 
a  general  one.  Not  a  ballot  was  opened  in  Wauban- 
see  county,  and  the  same  was  true  of  many  others. 
But  the  ticket  was  elected  and  no  harm  grew  old  of 
it,  as  the  State  was  not  admitted." 

We  regret  that  Mr.  Lines  had  not  stated  the  fact, 
that  that  was  just  why  it  was  not  admitted.  And 
while  he  was  seemingly  pleased  that  Waubansee  did 
not  contribute  anything  in  this  direction,  he  might 
have  told  with  equal  truth  that  James  Montgomery, 
of  his  way  of  thinking,  at  Mound  City,  after  92  votes 
for  the  Free  State  nominees  were  polled,  forcibly 
wrested  the  ballot-box  from  the  possession  of  the 
judges,  and  destroyed  it,  preventing  further  balloting, 
and  causing  the  entire  loss  of  the  large  poll  already 
made  at  that  point;  that  at  Clinton  forcible  means 
were  employed  by  non-voters  to  prevent  the  opening 
of  polls  there;  and  so  wherever  those  misguided 
men  of  that  faction  were  in  the  majority  they 


148  REMINISCENCES   OF 

attempted  to  defeat  the  people  and  prevent  their  get 
ting  possession  of  that  constitution  to  either  destroy 
it,  or  use  it  in  case  of  compulsion,  for  freedom. 

And  thus  the  last  of  the  whole  series  of  proposi 
tions  of  the  Herald  of  Freedom,  of  July  4,  1857, 
was  adopted  by  the  people,  and  KANSAS  WAS  FREE  I 
free  from  the  galling  chains  of  usurpation,  which  had 
so  long  held  the  public  in  thrall !  free  from  the  power 
of  a  corrupt  administration  at  Washington  to  longer 
tyrannize  over  it !  free  from  the  curse  of  slavery,  and 
free  to  regulate  its  own  institutions  in  its  own  way. 

Even  the  Topeka  Constitution  was  also  virtually 
dead,  and  an  era  of  peace,  prosperity  and  happiness 
dawned  upon  the  Territory. 

The  agitation  produced  by  the  settlement  of  the 
slavery  question  in  Kansas,  convulsed  the  whole  coun 
try.  It  destroyed  old  parties  and  built  a  new  one ;  it 
culminated  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  and  ended  in 
giving  freedom  to  a  long-enslaved  race,  and  in  estab 
lishing  the  principles  of  a  republican  government  on 
a  perpetually  enduring  basis. 

Looking  back  upon  the  Past,  and  forward  to  the 
Future,  is  there  a  patriot  who  shall  intimate  that  the 
anxieties  and  sacrifices,  the  toils  and  sufferings  of  the 
Kansas  pioneers  were  not  worthy  the  best  days  of  the 
Republic  ? 

And  in  awarding  credit  to  those  who  were  instru 
mental  in  producing  this  result,  I  would  include  the 
name  of  every  person  who  located  in  Kansas,  and  cast 
his  vote  or  used  his  influence  for  freedom;  and  I 
would  also  add  all  those  in  every  clime,  who  by  cheer 
ful  words,  pecuniary  contributions,  or  kindly  influen- 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  149 

ces  encouraged  or  assisted  the  pioneer  to  remain 
there  and  combat  the  organized  elements  of  wrong. 
All  their  names  are  worthy  to  be  inscribed  on  a 
lengthened  scroll,  and  deposited  in  the  archives  of  her 
Historical  Society,  for  endless  preservation.  And 
above  all  the  rest  should  be  written  in  letters  of  bur 
nished  gold  the  name  of  Hon.  ELI  THAYEE,  of 
Massachusetts,  who  anticipated  all  our  movements 
Kansasward,  organized  the  first  Free  State  emigra 
tion,  and  continued  to  send  it  forward  as  our  lines 
were  decimated  by  desertion,  disease  or  death;  who, 
at  his  own  expense,  traveled  more  than  60,000  miles; 
made  more  than  1,000  speeches,  devoted  three  entire 
years  to  the  work  without  pecuniary  compensation; 
and  sacrificed  a  then  present  and  prospective  fortune 
to  aid  the  movement;  for  whose  head  a  heavy  reward 
was  offered  by  the  secret  pro-slavery  lodges  of  Mis 
souri;  and  who  everywhere,  on  every  occasion,  in 
spired  hope  and  confidence  when  that  of  others  failed. 
If  all  other  names  are  forgotten,  his,  with  those  of 
Gov.  CHAELES  EOBINSON  and  Gen.  THOMAS 
EWING  should  remain  imperishable.* 

*While  this  book  was  being  revised  for  publication,  a  letter 
was  received  from  a  member  of  the  Kansas  press,  inquiring: 
"What  service  did  the  older  John  Brown  render  the  Free  State 
cause?  Was  he  an  aid  or  an  injury  to  free  Kansas?" 

I  will  answer  my  interrogator  by  stating  an  occurrence  of  more 
than  forty  years  ago: 

Business  called  me  in  January  of  1860,  to  my  old  home  in  Con- 
neautville,  Pa.,  where  I  founded  the  COURIER,  published  it  some 
seven  years,  and  where  I  raised  a  colony  of  two  hundred  and 
eighty  persons  who  went  out  with  me  to  Kansas.  A  committee 
representing  the  leading  citizens  waited  on  me,  and  asked  me  to 
give  a  public  address  on  Kansas  affairs.  This  was  on  Monday.  I 


150  REMINISCENCES   OF 

accepted,  conditioned  the  meeting  could  be  held  not  later  than 
Thursday  evening.  This  was  agreed  to. 

I  was  sitting  at  the  table  of  a  friend  to  supper  at  6  o'clock  on 
that  Thursday  evening,  when  a  committee  called,  said  the  large 
public  hall  was  already  filled  to  overflowing;  that  they  had  been 
sent  to  invite  me  not  to  delay  the  speaking  to  the  usual  hour,  but 
to  commence  at  once.  I  dismissed  my  supper  uneaten,  and  made 
my  way  to  Boynton's  Hall.  On  arrival,  the  point  of  commenc 
ing  the  address  at  onee  burst  on  me  with  terrible  force;  it  was 
difficult  to  crowd  my  way  through  the  dense,  impact  body  to  the 
rostrum.  Called  for,  I  began  immediately  the  story  of  Kansas' 
wrongs  and  her  triumphs,  substantially  as  given  in  these  pages. 

About  9  o'clock  I  noticed  the  hour,  and  seeing  it  was  late  I 
apologized  for  the  time  consumed,  but  the  call  from  every  quar 
ter  was  "Go  on,  go  on!"  I  did  so  until  10  o'clock,  when  I  rested. 
A  book  merchant  from  Meadville,  a  Mr.  Balsh,  if  I  remember 
his  name  correctly,  arose  in  his  place,  told  how  he  had  been  inter 
ested  and  instructed,  proposed  all  should  rise  to  their  feet,  sing 
"Old  Hundred,"  and  that  Mr.  Brown  be  invited  to  continue  his 
narration.  Omitting  the  singing  I  continued  with  a  hasty  con 
sideration  of  our  hopes  of  a  speedy  admission  as  a  free  State  into 
the  federal  Union.  The  audience  applauded  to  the  echo;  thanked 
me  for  the  address,  and  a  rush  was  made  to  take  me  by  the  hand. 
At  this  stage  some  one  called  the  meeting  to  order  and  John 
Brown,  Jr.,  appeared  on  the  rostrum.  He  had  come  there  at  the 
instance  of  a  rival  politician  of  mine  of  a  few  years  before.  He 
began  by  saying: 

"George  W.  Brown  has  addressed  you  for  more  than  four  hours 
on  Kansas  affairs,  and  has  not  said  one  word  about  my  father.  He 
who  did  so  much  to  make  Kansas  free,  receives  no  attention  from 
G.  W.  Brown.  I  deem  it  a  gross  insult  to  the  memory  of  my 
father,  and  were  I  to  meet  him  on  the  prairies  of  Kansas  I  would 
shoot  him  down  as  I  would  a  dog."  Hisses  long  continued,  and 
John,  rattling  chains  with  which  he  said  he  was  bound  when 
marching  forty  miles  in  a  boiling  sun  after  his  arrest  in  Kansas  by 
the  military,  but  which  chains  he  never  wore,  was  shut  oiT. 

I  was  again  called  for,  and  responded  by  simply  saying:  "Capt. 
John  Brown,  Sr.,  contributed  in  no  way  to  make  Kansas  free.  He 
never  co-operated  with  the  Free  State  leaders;  he  attended  none 
of  our  Conventions;  he  did  not  favor  us  with  his  counsels.  He 
never  voted  at  any  of  our  elections;  never  had  a  home  of  his  own 


GOVERNOR    WALKER.  151 

\vith  us;  his  family  were  residents  of  my  natal  county  of  Essex, 
New  York;  he  did  not  contemplate  a* removal  of  his  family  to 
Kansas,  hence  he  was  in  fact  and  in  law  as  much  a  foreigner  to  us 
as  were  the  Border  Ruffians  who  came  from  Missouri,  did  our 
voting,  and  made  laws  for  us.  His  policy  was  one  of  blood; 
which  the  best  minds  labored  to  counteract." 

And  so,  in  my  present  story  of  the  "Rescue  of  Kansas  from 
Slavery"  I  don't  know  Old  John  Brown.  He  acted  the  part  of  a 
freebooter  through  all  the  summer  of  1856,  and  as  such  he  will 
be  treated  when  a  truthful  and  impartial  history  of  Kansas  is 
written.  But  it  is  said  his  murderous  policy  of  taking  five  men 
from  their  beds  at  night  and  killing  them  in  cold  blood,  fright 
ened  the  pro-slavery  party,  and  prevented  their  location  in  Kan 
sas,  and  that  so  far  his  insane  acts  were  beneficial. 

It  may  be  the  scare-crows  set  up  in  the  field  to  frighten  destruc 
tive  birds,  are  entitled  to  more  credit  than  is  the  husbandman  who 
mellows  the  ground,  plants  the  seed,  keeps  down  the  weeds,  and 
gathers  the  harvest;  but  the  honest  farmer  views  them  as  old 
clothes  stuffed  with  straw,  stick  in  hand,  in  the  similitude  of  a 
man,  and  nothing  more;  so  the  midnight  assassin  who  robbed  and 
pillaged  at  will,  accountable  to  no  one;  and  he  who  planned  and 
would  have  executed  wholesale  murder  if  not  thwarted  in  his  pur 
pose,  instead  of  being  honored  with  statues  and  towering  shafts, 
covered  with  lying  inscriptions,  should  be  classed  with  the 
scourges  of  mankind  and  consigned  to  an  inglorious  oblivion. 


CHAPTER 


Conclusion.* 

GENEKATION  has  passed  away  since  the  inci 
dents  I  have  written  transpired.     Most  of  the 
actors  in  those  times  have  closed  their  earthly 
record. 

Kansas  has  become  a  great  and  powerful  State, 
with  a  population  of  one  million.  Her  broad  and 
lonely  prairies  are  now  teeming  with  life,  and  beauty, 
and  prosperity.  Her  long  Santa  Fe  trains,  drawn  by 
mules,  laden  with  merchandise,  slowly  winding  their 
way  to  an  interior  Territory,  have  given  place  to  two 
lines  of  railway,  which  daily  sweep  the  whole  length 
of  the  State,  which  in  turn  are  connected  by  metallic 
bands  with  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific,  while  others 
cross  these  from  North  to  South,  uniting  the  Mexican 
Gulf  with  the  Upper  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  while 
still  others  intersect  these,  forming  a  net  work  of  iron 

*The  reader  will  remember  this  chapter,  like  the  preceding 
ones,  was  written  twenty-two  years  ago,  and  is  here  given  with 
out  change;  though  the  subsequent  growth  and  prosperity  of  the 
State  has  surpassed  that  of  any  other  country  in  the  world.  The 
marvels  of  romance  are  here  excelled.  An  active  and  cultured 
imagination  could  scarcely  have  pictured  such  a  glorious  future 
as  the  reality  presents.  And  the  end  of  the  greatness  and  glory 
of  Kansas  is  not  yet  !  When  a  general  system  of  irrigation  and 
forestry  shall  be  adopted  in  practice,  her  barren  prairies  of  the 
West  will  rival  Egypt  in  productiveness  and  dense  population, 
as  do  her  people  now  in  intelligence,  moral  worth  and  practical 
virtues. 


GOVERNOR   WALKER.  153 

rails  within  her  borders,  more  than  3,000  miles  in 
length.  Wonderful  change!  Mighty  transformation! 
Surely  the  work  of  the  enchanter  is  here  with  his 
magic  wand!  He  has  touched  all  the  wheels  of  active 
life,  and  they  have  sprung  into  being  obedient  to  his 
will. 

In  the  early  part  of  November,  1854,  we  unloaded 
our  press,  type  and  fixtures  on  the  open  prairie,  where 
now  is  Lawrence;  then  a  city  of  tents,  with  a  few 
cabins  built  of  cottonwood;  thatched  with  wild  grass. 
A  city  of  10,000  inhabitants,  with  schools,  churches, 
printing  presses,  manufactories,  and  all  the  applian 
ces  of  an  advanced  civilization  are  there.  On  the 
high  elevation,  known  as  Mt.  Oread,  over  which  swept 
those  heavy,  searching  winds  when  we  first  ascended 
it,  on  that  cold  autumnal  morning,  to  get  a  larger 
view  of  the  country  in  which  so  many  important 
events  were  to  be  enacted,  now  stands  the  State  Uni 
versity,  the  proudest  institution  of  learning  in  the 
whole  West,  sending  forth  its  educating  and  refining 
influence  to  all  the  land. 

Topeka!  Its  site  was  visited  by  us  a  few  months 
later.  Beautiful  in  situation,  a  lovely  landscape,  a 
few  hopeful  settlers;  but  the  rudest  of  cabins  marked 
the  places  where  now  stand  palatial  residences  and 
costly  structures,  in  magnificence  rivaling  those  of 
many  Eastern  cities.  The  Capitol  Building,  now  in 
process  of  construction,  at  no  distant  day  will  be 
worthy  of  imitation  by  many  older  States.  The  city 
boasts  a  population  of  15,000,  and  is  already  assum 
ing  metropolitan  airs. 

Emporia!  Three  weary  days  Gen.  Deitzler  and  the 
writer  rode  over  a  barren  prairie  on  horseback,  to 


154  EEMINISCENCES   OF 

select  a  town  site  011  the  "Upper  Neosho."  Three 
more  days  were  consumed  in  attempting  to  ford  the 
river  at  various  points,  to  reach  the  location  of  our 
proposed  town.  At  length  we  found  it.  The  earth 
was  covered  with  snow.  Desolation  was  everywhere. 
Before  leaving  Lawrence  we  had  plotted  it — a  city  on 
paper — and  given  it  a  name,  a  new  one  in  the  post- 
office  directory,  borrowed  from  a  country  known  in 
the  classical  era  in  North  Africa.  We  were  hunting 
a  point  which  in  the  future  would  fit  the  name — a 
great  commercial  center.  Twenty.four  years  have 
flitted  by;  but  Emporia,  the  child  of  the  writer's 
hope  and  brain,  is  there  with  its  thriving  population, 
one  of  the  prettiest  towns  we  know,  with  its  State 
Normal  School,  its  banks,  its  places  of  industry,  its 
thriving  people,  and  its  Holly  system  of  Water 
Works,  and  withal  its  brilliant  future,  though  claim 
ing  a  population  of  full  5,000.  It  has  now  several 
connecting  links  of  railway,  where  we  found  but  con 
verging  Indian  trails. 

Every  town  in  Kansas,  save  Leaven  worth  and  Law 
rence,  has  been  located  and  received  its  name,  its 
population,  and  its  wealth  since  we  first  set  foot  on 
her  virgin  soil,  and  looked  out  upon  her  beautifully 
undulating  and  varied  landscape. 

Her  prosperity,  her  greatness,  her  power,  her 
brilliant  destiny,  owe  their  origin  to  the  anxiety,  the 
industry,  the  sacrifices,  the  good  judgment  and  un 
swerving  adherence  to  principle  of  her  early  pioneers. 
She  little  recks  in  her  present  condition  the  ceaseless 
struggles  of  those  who  laid  and  maintained  the  foun 
dation  of  her  future  opulence. 


GOVERNOR  WALKER.  155 

The  reader  who  has  journeyed  with  us  through 
these  pages,  has  learned  much  that  has  heretofore 
been  told  in  a  desultory  way.  Many,  even  promi 
nent  actors  in  the  strife,  who  shall  read  these  Rem 
iniscences,  will  be  allowed  for  the  first  time  to  step 
behind  the  scenes,  witness  events  and  their  causes 
never  before  chronicled.  It  has  been  my  pur 
pose  to  tell  the  truth,  without  the  most  distant  hope 
of  reward.  If  there  is  the  slightest  exaggeration  of 
fact,  or  misrepresentation  in  any  degree,  the  author  is 
not  conscious  of  it.  Should  such  be  discerned  by  any 
one,  he  will  place  the  writer  and  the  general  public, 
as  well  as  the  future  historian,  under  lasting  obliga 
tions  by  calling  the  author's  attention  to  it,  to  the  end 
that  it  shall  be  corrected  in  his  amended  copy, 
which  will  be  placed  for  preservation  in  the  archives 
of  the  Historical  Society  of  Kansas,  in  case  it  is  not 
called  for  by  the  public  to  be  reproduced  in  a  still 
more  enduring  form. 

The  resistless  stream  of  Time  bears  on  its  surging 
flood  the  wasting  Years.  Soon  the  last  actor  in  these 
memorable  scenes  will  sink  beneath  its  turbid  waves, 
and  others  will  occupy  his  place.  As  we  now  look 
back  with  pride  and  satisfaction  to  the  pioneers  of  the 
Mayflower,  bringing  to  America  their  puritanical 
habits  and  desire  for  religious  liberty,  so  may  the 
inheritors  of  the  free  institutions  planted  in  Kansas 
by  our  worthy  compeers,  look  back  with  some  kindred 
gratification  to  those  who  witnessed  her  sufferings  in 
her  natal  morn,  and  who  sacrificed  much  that  she 
might  be  FREE  ! 

Reader,  FAREWELL  ! 


APPENDIX, 


WITH 


INDORSEMENTS, 


AND  OTHER  MATTER 


END  OF  THE  CONTEST. 

BY  GEN.  THOMAS  EWING,  JR. 

XT/HE  STORY  of  the  Rescue  of  Kansas  from 
&\\9  Slavery  would  be  very  incomplete  without  the 
last  act  in  the  drama,  as  told  by  Gen.  Thomas  Ewing, 
a  star  actor,  in  the  Cosmopolitan  Magazine,  of  May, 
1894.  A  few  brief,  and  riot  very  important  passages 
are  here  omitted,  to  accommodate  the  narrative  to  our 
space.  No  other  could  have  supplied  the  information 
he  imparts,  and  much  false  history  has  been  written 
for  want  of  that  knowledge,  which  has  not  been  easily 
accessible.  The  article  was  entitled,  "  The  Struggle 
for  Freedom  in  Kansas."  We  quote  : 

"In  February,  1854,  I  sat  in  the  gallery  of  the  Senate  chamber 
at  Washington,  and  heard  much  of  the  debate  on  the  bill  to 
repeal  the  Missouri  Compromise  of  1820.  I  was  then  about  com 
pleting  my  collegiate  course  in  Brown  University,  at  Providence, 
Rhode  Island.  Four  years  before,  I  had  sat  in  the  gallery  of  the 
old  Senate  chamber,  now  the  Supreme  Court  room,  in  company 
with  Captain  William  Tecumseh  Sherman,  then  in  Washington 
from  the  Pacific  coast,  and  about  to  be  married  to  my  sister,  and 
heard  that  ever  memorable  debate  which  ended  in  the  compro 
mises  of  1850,  growing  out  of  our  vast  accessions  of  territory 
from  Mexico,  and  in  the  enactment  of  the  cruel  and  barbarous 
fugitive  slave  law.  I  was  intensely  anti-slavery, — far  more  so 
than  my  Whig  training  would  account  for,  I  was  hot  with  indig 
nation  at  the  Whig  leaders  who  supported  the  repeal  of  the  Mis 
souri  Compromise,  or  acquiesced  in  it,  or  resisted  it  but  feebly.  I 
recollect  my  pang  of  disappointment  at  the  labored  speech  against 
the  bill  of  Edward  Everett,  who  was  regarded  as  representing  the 
conservative  Whigs.  It  was  so  cool,  didactic,  elegant,  without  a 


160  GEN.   SWING'S 

glow  of  the  indignant  spirit  of  the  North  which   blazed  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people. 

"The  gage  thrown  down  by  the  South  to  fight  for  the  posses 
sion  of  the  Territories  was  promptly  taken  up;  and  Kansas  became 
the  battle-ground.  While  studying  law  at  Cincinnati,  I  watched 
every  step  in  the  struggle, — saw  how  the  genius  and  energy  of  Eli 
Thayer  taught  the  North  to  win  K  ansas  for  freedom  by  organized 
emigration,  against  the  sporadic  hordes  from  the  populous  borders 
of  Missouri  who  poured  over  the  line  to  plant  slavery  there. 
When  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  winter  of  1856-7,  I  was  mar 
ried,  and  removed  with  my  wife  to  Leavenworth." 

Passing  over  near  two  pages  of  general  Kansas  history  leading 
up  to  the  final  act  under  the  Lecompton  Constitution  swindle. 
Gen.  Ewing  came  to  that  question,  and  said  in  substance:  The 
final  crisis  in  the  struggle  for  freedom  in  Kansas,  growing  out  of 
the  Lecompton  Constitution,  came  soon  after  the  fall  election  of 
1857,  when  the  Free  State  party,  by  participating  in  the  election, 
had  gained  control  of  the  Territorial  Legislature.  Then,  quoting 
the  General  verbatim  : 

"  If  the  Free  State  men  should  elect  a  majority  of  the  State  and 
local  officers  and  of  the  Legislature,  under  the  Lecompton  Con 
stitution,  we  would  thereby  kill  that  attempted  usurpation  in  Con 
gress,  because  the  South  could  gain  nothing  by  admitting  the 
State  into  the  Union,  with  the  certainty  that  the  Constitution 
would  be  immediately  amended,  prohibiting  slavery  utterly  and 
forever.  While,  if  the  Free  State  men  should  refuse  to  vote,  the 
pro-slavery  men  would  control  all  departments  of  the  proposed 
State  government,  and  the  State  would,  in  all  probability,  be 
admitted  under  the  Lecompton  Constitution. 

"  The  expediency  of  our  electing  officers  under  the  Lecompton 
Constitution  was  obvious  to  a  large  majority  of  the  Free  State 
men  of  Kansas,  and  was  well  supported  by  the  Herald  of  Free 
dom,  the  Leavenworth  Times,  and  other  influential  newspapers  of 
our  party.  That  policy  was  also  urged  on  us  by  many  influential 
friends  of  free  State  in  and  out  of  Congress — by  my  father,  the 
Hon.  Thomas  Ewing,  of  Ohio,  who  wrote  my  elder  brother,  Hugh 
Ewing,  then  in  partnership  with  me  in  the  practice  of  law  at 
Leavenworth,  most  strongly  insisting  that  the  Free  State  men  in 
Kansas,  who  were  known  to  have  a  large  majority  in  the  Terri- 


NARRATION.  161 

tory,  should  elect  the  State  officers  and  members  of  the  legisla 
ture  under  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  and  thus  take  posses 
sion  of  the  government,  and  control  it,  so  as  t)  make  Kansas  a 
free  State — just  as  in  the  then  recent  October  election  the  Free 
State  men  chose  the  Legislature  and  took  possession  of  the  Terri 
torial  government.  The  Hon.  Salmon  P.  Chase,  then  Governor 
of  Ohio,  wrote  an  urgent  letter  to  Governor  Robinson,  advising 
the  voting  policy,  which,  as  well  as  the  letter  from  my  father,  was 
read  to  the  Convention  with  great  effect.  The  Hon.  Samuel  F. 
Vinton,  an  eminent  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
from  Ohio,  wrote  a  similar  letter  to  me,  which  I  read  to  the  Con 
vention,  in  which  he  said:  '  If  the  Free  State  men  shall  stub 
bornly  and  fanatically  refuse  to  adopt  this  policy,  I  for  one  will 
abandon  the  struggle  in  Congress  in  your  behalf.' 

"But  that  was  the  path  leading  to  a  peaceful  solution  of  the 
Kansas  strife,  and  many  of  the  most  active  Free  State  leaders  in 
Kansas  did  not  want  to  tread  it.  They  hoped  for  armed  collis 
ions  between  the  Free  State  men  and  the  general  government, 
expecting  that  all  the  States  would  become  involved,  and  that 
though  the  North  would  be  in  rebellion,  and  the  South  would 
have  the  prestige  and  power  of  the  legitimate  government,  the 
superior  numbers  and  resources  of  the  North  would  certainly  tri 
umph.  John  Brown,  of  Osawatomie,  was  the  inspirer,  though 
not  the  active  leader,  of  the  radical  wing  of  the  Free  State  party. 
He  regarded  slavery  as  a  crime,  to  be  expiated  in  blood,  and  him 
self  as  a  chosen  instrument  of  its  expiation — '  the  sword  of  the 
Lord,  and  of  Gideon.'  His  oft-repeated  maxim  was,  'Without 
blood  there  can  be  no  remission.'  His  dream  was  of  the  abolition 
of  slavery  by  Northern  bayonets,  aided  by  the  torch  of  the  slave. 
He  never  doubted  that  the  blacks  would  rise  en  masse,  so  soon  as 
the  North  should  be  in  the  field  to  support  them.  He  and  his 
influential  followers,  mostly  correspondents  of  Eastern  papers, 
were,  therefore,  determined  to  defeat  the  proposition  to  vote  for 
officers  under  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  and  were  active  and 
enthusiastic  in  securing  control  of  the  Convention,  held  on  the 
twenty-third  day  of  December,  1857. 

"Charles  Robinson,  who  had  been  chosen  Governor  under  the 
Topeka  Constitution, — a  man  of  great  ability,  earnestness  and 
honesty  of  purpose, — presided  at  this  Convention  and  strongly 


162  GEN.   EWING'S 

urged  the  adoption  of  the  voting  policy.  Most  of  the  recognized 
leaders  of  the  Free  State  party  supported  it — George  W.  Brown 
(now  of  Rockford,  Illinois);  S.  N.  Wood,  P.  C.  Schuyler,  M.  F. 
Conway,  J.  P.  Root,  Robert  Morrow,  James  Davis,  S.  C.  Pome- 
roy,  myself,  and  others  spoke  for  that  policy.  General  James  H. 
Lane,  who  was  by  many  regarded  as  pre-eminently  the  leader  of 
the  Free  State  party,  was  absent — non-committal — crafty-sick. 
*  *  * 

"The  debate  in  the  Convention,  on  the  proposition  to  take  part 
in  the  election,  was  protracted  throughout  the  first  day,  and  was 
very  acrimonious  and  exciting.  On  the  second  day,  December 
24th,  the  debate  went  on,  and  the  friends  of  the  voting  policy  had 
almost  silenced  opposition,  when  'General'  E.  B.  Whitman,  one  of 
General  Lane's  political  lieutenants,  rode  up  to  the  church  where 
the  Convention  was  being  held,  and,  dismounting  from  'his  steed 
of  foam,'  strode  into  the  Convention  and  on  to  the  platform 
booted  and  spurred,  'stained  with  the  variation  of  each  soil'  'twixt 
Sugar  Mound  and  Lawrence,  and  in  a  passionate  speech  declared 
that  he  had  just  ridden  eighty  miles,  from  Sugar  Mound,  without 
stopping  for  food  or  sleep,  to  call  the  people  of  Kansas  to  arms: 
that  General  Lane  was  in  command  there,  and  a  desperate  battle 
was  impending  with  the  Federal  troops.  The  excitement  that  fol 
lowed  this  announcement  was  furious  and  indescribable.  I  sprang 
on  a  table  and  bitterly  denounced  the  statement  as  an  obvious 
trick  and  fraud  to  control  the  Convention.  But  the  vote  was 
forced  at  once,  and  the  voting  policy  was  rejected. 
*  *  * 

"While  the  assemblage  was  breaking  up,  I  called  several  friends, 
to  accompany  me,  and  hastening  to  W.  Y.  Roberts,  Vice  Presi 
dent  of  the  Convention,  and  a  strong  supporter  of  the  voting  pol 
icy,  we  persuaded  him  to  announce  to  the  dispersing  crowd  that 
the  friends  of  that  policy  who  were  willing  to  bolt  the  action  of 
the  Convention  would  meet  at  Masonic  Hall  on  Massachusetts 
street,  at  seven  o'clock  that  evening,  to  nominate  a  State  ticket 
and  organize  the  Territory  for  the  election.  The  announcement 
was  received  with  violent  denunciations  and  yells  of  dissent.  The 
bolters'  meeting,  when  convened  that  evening,  was  broken  up  by 
a  mob,  who  put  out  the  lights  and  forcibly  ejected  all  the  bolting 


NARRATION.  168 

delegates  from  the  hall.*  We  re-convened,  on  the  invitation  of 
George  W.  Brown,  in  the  basement  of  his  Herald  of  Freedom 
printing-office.  Only  thirteen  bolting  delegates  appeared  out  01 
sixty-four,  who  in  the  Convention  supported  the  voting  policy  to 
the  last.  A  Free  State  ticket  was  nominated,  as  follows:  for  Gov 
ernor,  George  W.  Smith;  Lieutenant-Governor,  W.  Y.  Roberts; 
Secretary  of  State,  P.  C.  Schuyler;  State  Treasurer,  A.  J. 
Meade  (now  a  resident  of  New  York  City) ;  State  Auditor,  Joel 
K.  Goodin;  Representative  in  Congress,  Marcus  J.  Parrott,  who 
was  then  delegate  in  Congress  from  the  Territory — all  tried  and 
true  Free  State  men;  all  pledged,  if  they  should  be  elected  and 
the  State  admitted  under  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  to  favor 
an  immediate  call  of  a  Convention  to  wipe  out  every  vestige  of 
that  odious  Constitution,  and  to  frame  and  adopt  a  new  one — a 
pledge  which  was  exacted  from  every  Free  State  candidate,  big 
and  little,  nominated  in  the  bolting  movement. 

"The  next  day — Christmas — a  large  edition  of  the  Herald  of 
Freedom  was  gotten  out  by  George  W.  Brown,  its  editor  and 
proprietor — to  whose  pen  and  purse,  zeal  and  sense,  the  Free 
State  cause,  from  beginning  to  end  of  the  struggle,  was  greatly 
indebted  for  its  triumphs.  It  was  filled  with  arguments  and  infor 
mation  in  favor  of  our  movement,  and  with  tickets  for  the  Free 
State  candidates.  I  hired  every  livery  stable  horse  and  rider  that 
could  be  obtained  in  Lawrence,  and  had  many  volunteers,  who 
carried  the  Herald  of  Freedom  post-haste  to  every  considerable 
settlement  in  the  Territory.  It  will  be  considered,  I  hope,  only 
a  pardonable  vanity  in  me  to  say  that  I  personally  expended  in 
the  movement  over  a  thousand  dollars — being  all  the  money  I  had 
or  could  borrow.  We  had  but  nine  days  in  which  to  organize 
and  conduct  the  campaign,  over  a  settled  territory  two  hundred 
miles  square,  without  a  railroad. 

"The  pro-slavery  men  and  newspapers  fought  us  fiercely.  Fully 
half  of  the  Free  State  newspapers  supported  our  movement,  but 
the  other  half  bitterly  opposed  and  ridiculed  it,  calling  our  voters' 
assemblage  'Brown's  Cellar  Kitchen  Convention,'  and  all  of  us 
'disappointed,  ambitious  kickers'  and  'soreheads.'  S.  N.  Wood, 
of  Council  Grove,  who  had  been  appointed  chairman  of  the 

*Gen.  Ewing  was  in  error  in  this.  The  lights  were  extinguished  by  my 
direction  as  the  best  way  to  get  rid  of  the  turbulent  mob.— BROWN. 


164  GEN.  EWING'S 

Executive  Committee  by  the  Bolter's  Convention,  did  great  work 
In  organizing  and  conducting  the  campaign.  Never  was  there  a 
nine  days'  canvass  conducted  over  a  greater  area,  under  greater 
difficulties,  or  more  vigorously.  The  result  was  watched  in  Wash 
ington  and  throughout  Kansas  with  breathless  interest,  as  likely  to 
settle  forever  the  vexed  Kansas  question  one  way  or  the  other. 

"At  Leavenworth,  a  town  of  perhaps  four  thousand  people,  the 
largest  in  the  Territory,  the  election  was  regular  and  the  vote 
full,  free  and  fair  on  both  sides.  At  Mound  City,  in  Linn  county, 
Montgomery  seized  and  destroyed  the  ballot-box  and  broke  up 
the  election  when  about  half  the  votes  had  been  cast.  At  Sugar 
Mound,  also,  the  ballot-box  was  destroyed  and  the  ballots  scat 
tered  to  the  winds  by  a  party  of  Free  State  men  who  were  hostile 
to  the  voting  policy;  and  so,  also,  at  Clinton.  In  Wabaunsee 
county  it  was  the  boast  of  some  of  the  extreme  Free  State  men 
that  the  feeling  was  too  intense  there  to  suffer  an  election  for  offi 
cers  under  the  Lecompton  Constitution  to  be  held  in  any  precinct 
in  that  county.  The  night  before  the  election  I  organized  a  com 
pany  of  about  thirty  armed  P'ree  State  men  under  Captain  Losee, 
and  towards  morning  went  with  them  to  Kickapoo,  a  pro-slavery 
village  numbering  a  few  hundred  people,  eight  miles  above  Leav 
enworth,  and  directly  across  the  Missouri  river  from  Weston, 
Missouri,  a  large  town  which  had  contracted  the  habit  of  sending 
its  men  at  every  election  to  swell  the  pro-slavery  vote  in  Kick- 
-apoo.  We  rode  into  Kickapoo  at  daybreak,  and  had  tied 
our  horses  and  taken  position  near  the  polling  place  before  the 
voting  commenced,  intending  to  see  who  voted  and  how  many. 
Our  appearance  caused  great  excitement,  and  threats  of  violence, 
especially  among  the  Missourians,  who  came  from  Weston  as  fast 
as  the  one  ferry-boat  could  bring  them.  By  ten  o'clock,  we  were 
so  overwhelmingly  outnumbered  that  all  of  our  troop  had  been 
induced  to  return  to  Leavenworth,  except  only  the  venerable  John 
C.  Vaughan,  Wolff,  Currier,  and  myself.  We  four  gave  our  pis 
tols  to  our  retiring  comrades,  as  more  likely  to  provoke  attack  on 
us  than  to  be  useful  in  defense  against  such  numbers.  We  then 
took  position  near  the  polling  window,  in  a  corner  made  by  a  pro 
jection  of  the  building,  where  we  might  be  crushed,  but  from 
which  we  could  hardly  be  ejected,  and  there  we  stood  all  day. 
The  voters,  generally,  made  headquarters  in  several  saloons,  from 


NARRATION.  165 

which  they  poured  out  from  time  to  time,  noisy,  drunkr 
armed  with  two  revolvers  to  the  voter — each  man  voting  several 
times;  several  gangs  voting  as  often  as  six  times, — threatening  us 
with  death  if  we  did  not  leave  for  Leavenworth.  A  friend  of 
mine  named  Spivey,  who  was  a  clerk  for  Gen.  Whitfield  in  the 
Kickapoo  land  office,  and  who  was  a  sober  and  sensible  man,  acted 
as  an  intermediary  between  the  mob  and  us,  warning  us  most  sol 
emnly  to  leave  for  Leavenworth,  or  we  would  be  murdered.  I 
told  Spivey,  and  had  him  tell  the  mob,  that  we  would  not  leave 
until  the  polls  should  close,  and  they  would  not  dare  to  fire  on  us, 
because  they  knew  if  they  should  kill  one  [of  us,  the  Free 
State  people  of  Leavenworth  would  burn  both  Kickapoo  and  Wes- 
ton  to  the  subsoil  before  morning.  Just  before  the  polls  closed,  to 
mark  the  end,  Mr.  Currier  and  I  voted — as  we  had  a  right  to  dor 
being  citizens  of  that  county.  Our  votes  were  numbered  550  and 
551.  Only  two  votes  were  cast  after  we  voted,  when  the  polls 
were  closed,  the  total  vote  being  553.  Whereupon,  about  dark, 
having  submitted  to  a  good  deal  of  hustling  and  rough  handling, 
we  rode  off  for  Leavenworth  in  a  shower  of  rotten  eggs  and  pis 
tol  shots. 

"The  returns  of  the  election,  as  provided  in  the  schedule  of  the 
Constitution,  were  sent  to  John  Calhoun,  at  Lecompton,  who  was 
surveyor-general  of  Kansas,  and  president  of  the  Convention.  He 
made  and  published  his  official  statement  of  the  result  in  each 
county,  showing  the  election  of  the  entire  pro-slavery  State 
ticket,  and  a  pro-slavery  majority  in  both  branches  of  the  Legis 
lature.  His  decision  was  priina  facie  correct,  and  beyond  review 
or  reversal  by  any  Territorial  authority.  Calhoun  forthwith  left 
for  Washington  to  report  the  result  to  Buchanan's  administra 
tion,  that  it  might  be  officially  laid  before  Congress. 

"Immediately  on  this  announcement,  and  solely  on  my  own 
impulse  and  initiative,  I  went  to  the  Territorial  Legislature,  which 
had  assembled  at  Lawrence  in  regular  session,  January  4,  1858, 
and  was  controlled  by  the  Free  State  party,  and  there  procured 
the  passage  of  a  law,  approved  January  14,  1858,  creating  a  Board 
to  investigate  and  report  upon  the  frauds  committed  at  the  elec 
tion  on  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  December  21,  1857;  and 
also  at  the  election  for  officers  under  the  Constitution,  January  4, 
1858,  and  in  the  returns  thereof.  Henry  J.  Adams,  J.  B.  Abbott, 


166  GEN.  SWING'S 

Dillon  Pickering,  E.  L.  Taylor,  H.  T.  Green,  and  myself,  com 
posed  the  Board.  L.  A.  McLean,  who  was  Surveyor-General 
Calhoun's  chief  clerk,  was  summoned  to  appear  before  us  as  a 
witness,  together  with  other  pro-slavery  men  employed  in  the  office 
of  the  surveyor-general  at  Lecompton,  where  the  election  returns 
and  all  the  other  archives  relating  to  the  Lecompton  Constitution 
had  been  filed.  McLean  appeared  and  swore  that  Calhoun  had 
taken  all  the  returns  relating  to  the  elections  under  the  Lecomp 
ton  Constitution  with  him  to  Washington.  This  struck  us  as  a 
very  improbable  story;  but  McLean  stuck  to  it  with  a  respectful 
ness,  dignity  and  sincerity  of  manner  which  were  very  impress 
ive.  No  one  could  be  found  to  Ihrow  a  doubt  on  his  statement. 
We  had  the  Surveyor-General's  office  at  Lecompton  searched  for 
the  returns  by  our  sergeant-at-arms;  but  not  a  scrap  of  them  was 
found.  Our  investigation,  obviously,  could  amount  to  nothing 
without  these  returns;  so,  with  Calhoun  in  Washington,  and  his 
subordinates  swearing  that  he  took  the  returns  with  him,  we  felt 
utterly  baffled  and  beaten. 

"At  a  late  hour  of  the  second  night  after  McLean's  testimony 
was  given,  as  I  was  returning  to  my  room  at  the  Eldridge  House, 
I  was  accosted  in  the  dark,  on  a  lonely  street,  by  a  man  whom  I 
did  not  know,  who  asked  my  name,  but  refused  to  give  his  own. 
He  handed  me  his  revolver  as  an  assurance  of  his  pacific  intentions, 
saying  that  he  had  been  watching  on  the  street  for  me  for  several 
hours.  He  said  he  had  heard  a  report  of  McLean's  testimony 
before  our  board,  and  desired  to  know  if  it  was  given  as  stated.  I 
replied  that  it  was.  He  said  it  was  a  lie,  and  he  could  prove  it,  if 
it  would  do  any  good.  He  said,  however;  that  he  lived  at  Le 
compton,  and  would  in  all  probability  be  murdered  if  he  should 
be  known  to  have  informed  on  McLean  and  his  associates.  I  sat- 
fied  him  that  if  he  could  and  would  give  me  information  exposing 
the  falsity  ot  McLean's  testimony,  his  action  should  not  be 
known,  and  that  with  that  information,  we  could  drive  Calhoun 
and  his  gang  from  the  Territory,  and  defeat  the  Lecompton  Con 
stitution. 

"  He  then  said  that  late  in  the  night  preceding  the  day  wrhen 
McLean  appeared  as  a  witness  before  our  Board,  he  [McLean] 
had  buried  a  large  candle-box  under  a  woodpile  adjoining  his 
office,  and  that  he  had  been  seen  by  Charley  Torrey,  the  janitor, 


NARRATION.  167 

who  slept  in  the  building  and  who  told  my  informant.  He  then 
gave  me  his  name  as  Henry  W.  Petrikin,  and  described  himself  as 
being  a  clerk  in  the  office  of  William  Brindle,  receiver  of  the  Uni 
ted  States  land  office  at  Lecompton.  This  was  a  voucher  for  his 
good  faith,  for  I  knew  enough  of  General  Brindle  to  know  that 
he  would  have  no  rascals  about  him. 

"Next  day,  aided  by  my  official  position  as  one  of  the  commis 
sioners  to  investigate  the  election  frauds,  I  obtained  from  Josiah 
Miller,  Probate  Judge  of  Douglas  county,  now  deceased,  a  search 
warrant  directed  to  Captain  Samuel  Walker,  sheriff  of  Douglas 
county — who  had  already  done  loyal  service  to  the  Free  State 
cause  and  was  eager  to  do  more — commanding  him  to  enter  upon 
and  search  the  premises  of  the  Surveyor-General,  in  Lecompton, 
and — if  practicable — to  find,  take  and  bring  before  Judge  Miller 
all  the  original  returns  of  elections  on  or  under  the  Lecompton 
Constitution.  Enjoining  Judge  Miller  to  secrecy,  I  then  sought 
Sheriff  Walker  and  requested  him  to  pick  out  a  dozen  fighting 
men  well  armed,  to  go  with  him  as  a  posse,  and  told  him  I  had  a 
writ  for  him  to  execute,  and  would  tell  him  at  daybreak  next 
morning  where  to  go  and  what  to  do.  Captain  Walker  was  on 
hand  punctually,  with  his  trusty  squad  in  a  back  alley;  and  after 
receiving  the  warrant  and  full  instructions  from  me,  he  set  out 
unobserved  from  Lawrence  for  Lecompton,  eight  miles  away.  He 
pounced  upon  the  Surveyor-General's  premises  early  in  the  morn 
ing,  dug  up  a  buried  candle-box  from  under  a  great  woodpile 
adjoining  the  office,  and  before  noon  he  rode  up  Massachusetts 
street,  in  Lawrence,  at  the  head  of  his  squad,  holding  the  candle- 
box  on  the  pommel  of  his  saddle. 

"C.  W.  Babcock,  President  of  the  Council;  G.  W.  Dietzler, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives;  and  J.  W.  Denver, 
acting  Governor,  met  the  Investigating  Board  in  the  office  of 
Judge  Miller.  Sheriff  Walker  made  return  of  his  search-war 
rant  and  delivered  the  candle-box  to  Judge  Miller,  who  opened 
and  produced  from  it  all  the  returns  of  the  election  for  officers  of 
the  Lecompton  Constitution,  which  McLean  had  sworn  had  been 
taken  by  Calhoun  to  Washington.  The  Kickapoo  returns  had 
swollen  to  995,  from  553,  which  was  the  actual  vote — chiefly 
fraudulent — when  the  polls  closed,  there  being  442  names  added  to 
the  list  of  voters  after  the  names  of  Currier  and  Ewing,  and  after 


168  GEN.  SWING'S 

the  polls  closed.  Oxford,  which  had  a  legitimate  vote  of  about 
one  hundred,  had  the  number  increased  in  the  returns,  through 
obvious  forgery,  to  1,266;  the  returns  from  Shawnee  showed 
about  fifty  real  voters,  to  which  had  been  added  names — fictitious 
names,  bringing  the  total  up  to  729.  The  fraudulent  additions 
were  as  apparent  on  the  face  of  the  returns  as  would  be  extension 
in  the  leg's  of  a  boys  trowsers.  They  were  all  on  the  pro-slavery 
side;  but  proving  insufficient  to  effect  the  desired  result,  a  return 
from  Delaware  Crossing,  in  Leavenworth  county,  which  had  been 
honestly  made  by  the  two  judges  of  election,  was  forged,  by  splic 
ing  with  a  sheet  containing  336  additional  names  of  pro-slavery 
voters  in  a  different  handwriting  and  in  different  ink — these  fraud 
ulent  votes  electing  the  whole  legislative  ticket  of  eleven  members 
from  Leavenworth  county,  and  giving  both  branches  of  the  Leg 
islature  to  the  pro-slavery  party. 

"These  entire  returns  showed  6,875  v°tes  cast  for  Free  State 
candidates,  and  counting  in  all  the  returns,  valid  and  fraudulent,  a 
few  hundred  more  for  pro-slavery  candidates.  On  the  same 
day,  the  fourth  of  January,  1858,  an  election  was  held  under  a 
statute  then  recently  passed  by  the  Free  State  legislature,  to  take 
a  vote  on  the  adoption  or  rejection  of  the  Lecompton  Constitu 
tion,  at  which  10,226  votes  were  cast  against  it,  and  none  in  it& 
favor.  This  last-named  vote  shows  the  whole  strength  of  the  Free 
State  party  of  Kansas,  while  the  vote  of  6,872  for  Free  State  can 
didates  under  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  shows  that  3,351  Free 
State  men  who  voted  against  the  Lecompton  Constitution  did  not 
vote  for  officers  under  it.  In  other  words,  the  Free  State  men 
who  opposed  the  voting  policy  were  thus  shown  to  comprise  only 
one-third  of  the  Free  State  party. 

"Immediately  on  this  exposure — January  28,  1858 — I  swore  out 
a  warrant  for  the  arrest  of  McLean,  for  perjury.     But  as  soon  as 
the  candle-box  had  been  dug  up  from  the  woodpile,  he  had  fled 
with  his  fellow  conspirators  never  to  return  to  Kansas. 
*  *  # 

"The  exposure  of  the  frauds  struck  the  Lecomptonites  dumb. 
Every  incident  was  telegraphed  and  published  everywhere.  On 
the  day  of  the  exposure,  Henry  W.  Petrikin,  who  is  now  living  at 
Montoursville,  Pennsylvania,  got  a  brief  statement  of  the  facts 
signed  by  the  presiding  officers  of  the  two  houses  of  the  Legisla- 


NARRATION.  169 

ture,  and  by  Acting-Governor  Denver,  which  statement  he  car 
ried  post-haste  to  Washington  and  laid  before  President  Buchanan, 
in  presence  of  Senator  Bigler,  of  Pennsylvania;  Senator  Dickin 
son,  of  New  York;  Gen.  Sam  Houston,  of  Texas;  Hon.  Allison 
White,  of  Pennsylvania;  and  R.  Bruce  Petrikin,  of  Pennsylva 
nia.  I  followed  in  a  day  or  two  with  the  report  of  our  board  to 
investigate  the  election  frauds,  accompanied  by  an  abstract  of  the 
candle-box  returns,  and  a  memorial  to  Congress,  all  of  which  I 
caused  to  be  printed  at  once  and  laid  on  the  desk  of  each  member 
of  Congress. 

"Thereupon,  the  bill  then  pending  in  Congress  for  the  admis 
sion  of  Kansas  into  the  Union,  under  the  Lecompton  Constitu 
tion,  dropped  dead.  A  few  months  afterwards  the  English  bill 
was  forced  through  Congress  by  the  administration.  It  provided 
for  the  submission  of  the  Lecompton  Constitution  to  a  free  vote 
of  the  people  of  Kansas,  and  offered  them  five  and  a  half  millions 
of  acres  of  the  public  lands  for  common  schools  and  a  univer 
sity,  and  five  per  cent,  of  all  the  public  lands  in  the  Territory 
— being  about  two  and  a  half  millions  of  acres  more — for  internal 
improvements — all  the  grants  being  conditioned  on  the  acceptance 
of  that  constitution  by  the  people.  The  offer  and  the  constitution 
were  contemptuously  rejected  on  the  second  of  August,  1858,  by 
a  vote  of  11,300  against  the  proposition,  to  1,788  in  its  favor. 
Thereupon  the  Lecompton  Constitution  was  abandoned,  and  Kan 
sas  was  kept  out  of  the  Union  for  more  than  two  years  longer  to 
do  penance  for  its  devotion  to  freedom. 

"The  waves  which  rolled  high  in  Kansas  during  the  political 
storm  of  1855-6-7  extended  throughout  the  Northern  States  and 
were  long  in  subsiding.  As  late  as  the  fall  of  1860,  the  Kansas 
questions  were  uppermost  for  political  discussion  in  every  North 
ern  State.  On  my  way  through  Cincinnati  to  Lancaster,  Ohio, 
during  the  political  campaign  in  October,  1859,  I  was  taken  to 
make  a  speech  at  a  Republican  meeting  in  Fifth  street,  Market 
space,  then  being  addressed  by  Tom  Corwin  and  Caleb  B.  Smith. 
When  I  reached  the  stand,  Corwin  was  speaking.  He  had  been 
discussing  only  Kansas  questions.  As  I  ascended  the  steps,  he 
turned  and  greeted  me  with  some  pleasant  words  of  recogni 
tion,  and  then  branched  off  on  Kansas  politics,  appealing  to  me 
as  a  witness  and  a  participant.  He  told  with  mock  gravity  of  our 


170  GEN.  EWING'S 

many  governments  there;  spoke  of  the  Lecompton  territorial 
government,  the  Topeka  provisional  government,  the  Lecompton 
State  government,  the  Topeka  State  government,  and  the  Leav- 
enworth  State  government,  and  described  them  all  as  being  in  full 
operation,  electing  State,  territorial,  county,  township,  and  city 
officers  under  each  government,  and  all  in  full  operation  at  the 
same  time.  He  said  it  brought  on  a  general  election  every  month, 
and  a  county,  city,  or  township  election  every  other  day.  He 
said:  'My  fellow-citizens:  Kind  and  benignant  nature  always 
responds  to  the  wants  and  habits  .of  men;  and  I  now  make  the 
prediction  that  the  next  generation  in  Kansas  will  be  born  with 
ballot-boxes  in  their  bellies,  like  'possums;  so  they  can  vote  when 
ever  they  want  to  !' 

"Thirty-six  years  have  passed  since  the  Free  State  struggle  in 
Kansas  ended.  I  have  never,  until  recently,  told  all  of  this  story 
to  any  but  my  own  family.  In  making  it  public  now,  I  wish  not 
to  seem  unmindful  of  the  heroism  of  the  Free  State  men  in  the 
earlier  phases  of  the  contest,  when  many  suffered  capture,  impris 
onment  and  death  in  the  cause;  nor  of  the  wisdom  and  forbear 
ance  of  Governor  Robinson  and  his  associates,  and  the  patriotic 
resistance  to  party  dictation  of  Governors  Walker,  Stanton  and 
Denver,  which  contributed  so  much  to  the  happy  solution  of  the 
controversy.  I  have  written  only  of  the  last  phase  of  that  pro 
tracted  struggle,  which  ended  in  February,  1858,  in  the  abandon 
ment  of  all  attempts  to  force  slavery  on  Kansas." 

After  a  brief  mention  of  the  press  correspondents,  saying  their 
hope  of  freedom  in  Kansas  rested  in  inciting  a  war  of  the  North 
against  the  South,*  Gen.  Ewing  continues: 

"In  their  correspondence  with  the  Republican  newspapers, 
they  wrought  up  and  magnified  the  incidents  of  the  Kansas 
struggle  in  1855-6-7,  when  it  was  a  struggle  of  force  arid  blood; 
but  they  were  not  friendly  to  the  efforts  by  which  the  Lecompton 
Constitution  was  at  last  peacefully  defeated.  Hence  the  final  and 
decisive  movements  which  I  have  here  narrated  were  ignored  or 
under-estimated  in  the  contemporary  press,  and  have  been  almost 
overlooked  in  nearly  all  the  histories  of  the  Kansas  struggle. 

"The  importance  of  that  struggle  cannot  be  overestimated.  It 
was  the  prelude  to  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  and  prepared  the 


NARRATION.  171 

people  to  realize  its  magnitude  and  to  resolve  that  it  should  be  a 
fight  to  the  finish.  But  for  this  long  preparation,  it  is  not  improb 
able  that  the  Rebellion  would  have  ended  in  a  compromise,  leav 
ing  slavery,  though  crippled,  a  lasting  cause  of  bad  blood  and 
strife  between  the  sections.  Had  John  Brown's  purpose  to  bring 
on  a  war  between  the  sections  succeeded,  with  the  South  in  pos 
session  of  all  the  power  and  prestige  of  the  General  government, 
and  the  North  in  rebellion,  all  the  nations  of  the  world  would 
have  stood  by  the  South  and  the  General  government;  while  the 
North  would  have  been  divided,  overwhelmed  and  conquered. 
But  there  was  a  higher  power  which  foiled  John  Brown's  mad 
scheme.  The  great  sweep  of  events,  from  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
bill  to  the  surrender  at  Appomattox,  was  no  doubt  divinely 
directed  to  unify  and  purify  our  people  for  their  glorious  mission. 
Whoever  bore  an  honorable  part,  however  humble,  on  the  North 
ern  side  in  the  great  struggle,  has  reason  to  thank  God  for  having 
made  him  an  instrument  in  preserving  this  beneficent  Republic, 
which  is  the  hope  and  light  of  the  world." 

[*It  has  been  denied  by  a  late  writer,  who  was  born  long  after  the  events 
occurred  narrated  by  Geu.  Ewing.  that  there  were  two  lines  of  policy  urged 
for  the  rescuing  of  Kansas  from  slavery — one  of  peace,  the  other  of  blood; 
the  peaceful  policy,  that  pursued  by  Gov.  Robinson  and  those  who  co-oper 
ated  with  him— the  bone  and  sinew,  as  well  the  intellect  of  the  Territory; 
the  other  that  of  the  most  prominent  press  correspondents,  of  which  Red- 
path,  Phillips,  Raelf,  Hinton,M  genus  omne,  all  foreigners  and  indorsers  of 
Old  John  Brown  and  Gen.  Lane,  are  types.  Redpath  placed  himself  on  rec 
ord,  in  his  Roving  Editor,  a  book  of  365  pages,  published  prior  to  the  Har 
per's  Ferry  Raid  by  John  Brown,  evidently  designed  to  incite  that  rebel 
lion.  Turn  to  page  300,  and  read: 

"I  believed  that  a  civil  war  between  the  North  and  South  would  ultimate 
in  insurrection,  and  that  the  Kansas  troubles  would  probably  create  a  mili 
tary  conflict  of  the  sections.  Hence  I  left  the  South,  and  went  to  Kansas ; 
and  endeavored,  personally  and  by  my  pen,  to  precipitate  a  revolution.  That 
we  failed— for  I  was  not  alone  in  this  desire— was  owing  to  the  influence  of 
prominent  Republican  statesmen,  whose  unfortunately  conservative  char 
acter  of  counsel— which  it  was  impossible  to  openly  resist— effectually  baf 
fled  all  our  hopes;  hopes  which  Democratic  action  was  auspiciously  pro 
moting.1'1] 


OF 

GEN.  THOMAS  EWING. 

HOMAS  EWING,  JR.,  was  born  in  Ohio  in 
1830.  He  was  the  son  of  Hon.  Thos.  Ewing, 
Sr.,  for  many  years  United  States  Senator  from  Ohio, 
and  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  under  Wm.  Henry 
Harrison. 

Young  Ewing  at  the  age  of  27  located  in  Leaven- 
worth,  and  was  the  head  of  the  law  firm  of  Ewing, 
Sherman  &  McCook.  He  has  told  us  somewhat  of 
his  history  in  the  preceding  pages  from  his  pen.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Leavenworth  Constitutional 
Convention,  and  became  favorably  known  to  the  prom 
inent  men  of  the  Territory,  who  were  members  of  that 
Convention. 

On  the  admission  of  Kansas  into  the  Union  Mr. 
Ewing  was  elected  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  The  War  of  the  Kebellion  coming  on  soon 
after,  he  resigned  his  office  and  organized  the  llth 
Regiment  of  Kansas  Infantry,  of  which  he  was  made 
Colonel.  For  conspicuous  ability  and  bravery,  he 
advanced  step  by  step,  until  he  became  Major  Gen 
eral.  His  heroic  conduct  at  Pilot  Knob,  doubtless 
saved  Missouri  to  the  Union  in  that  bloody  contest  for 
national  existence. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  Gen.  Ewing  returned  to 
Ohio,  and  served  two  terms  in  Congress.  In  1879  the 
General  was  a  candidate  for  Governor  of  Ohio,  but 
was  defeated.  Removing  to  New  York  he  established 


GEN.  THOMAS  EWING. 


IN  MEMORY  OF  GEN.  EWING.  173 

the  law  firm  of  Ewing,  Whitman  &  Ewing,  and  gained 
great  prominence  as  a  successful  lawyer. 

Gen.  Ewing  is  best  known  to  the  people  of  Kansas 
and  the  Missouri  border,  by  his  famous  Military  Order 
No.  11,  by  which  two  tiers  of  counties  lying  east  of 
the  Kansas  state  line,  and  south  of  the  Missouri,  were 
depopulated,  after  the  Quantrell  raid  on  Lawrence, 
August  21, 1863.  The  "Bushwhackers,"  as  these  des 
peradoes  were  best  known,  had  their  headquarters  in 
the  afterwards  depopulated  region.  They  would 
come  together  at  a  given  signal,  invade  Kansas,  pil 
lage,  desolate  and  burn  towns,  murder  the  inhabi 
tants,  then  return  to  Missouri  laden  with  booty  and 
scatter  among  the  homes,  where  they  would  secrete 
themselves,  until  ready  for  another  raid.  But  the 
depopulation  of  those  counties  ended  that  sort  of 
warfare. 

The  Cincinnati  Enquirer  said  of  Gen.  Ewing,  in 
announcing  his  death,  crushed  by  a  cable  car  January 
20,  1896: 

"Gen.  Ewing  was  an  ideal  gentleman;  handsome  in 
person;  easy  and  gracious  in  manner;  lofty  in  ideas, 
and  he  made  a  favorable  impression  on  everybody  he 
met,  though  he  was  wholly  unaffected.  He  was  a  gal 
lant  and  effective  soldier,  an  able  lawyer,  a  sincere 
statesman,  and  a  politician  who  set  a  high  example  in 
the  practice  of  politics." 

Gen.  Ewing  always  retained  a  profound  interest  in 
everything  pertaining  to  Kansas,  identified  as  he  was 
in  her  pioneer  history.  He  was  on  terms  of  friendly 
relation  with  many  of  the  leading  citizens,  and  con 
tinued  correspondence  with  some  of  them  down  to 
the  period  of  his  untimely  death. 


TRIBUTE  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF 

GOV.  CHAELES  ROBINSON. 

fT  WAS  our  purpose  to  write  a  brief  sketch  of  the 
life  of  Governor  Kobinson,  to  accompany  these 
pages.  As  we  took  up  our  pen  for  that  purpose,  and 
was  consulting  authorities  for  dates,  and  for  other 
matters  therewith,  we  chanced  to  fall  in  with  tributes 
to  his  memory  from  Prof.  JAS.  H.  CANFIELD,  for 
merly  Professor  of  History  in  the  Kansas  State  Uni 
versity  at  Lawrence,  now  Librarian  of  Columbia  Uni 
versity,  in  his  reviewal  of  the  lately  published  Life 
of  Gov.  Kobinson;  as  also  an  extract  from  the  speech 
of  Hon.  CHARLES  F.  SCOTT,  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Regents,  and  in  their  behalf,  on  the  occasion  of 
accepting  from  the  State  the  custody  of  a  marble 
bust  of  Gov.  Robinson,  to  perpetuate  his  renown.  As 
the  task  was  so  much  better  done  by  them  than  we 
are  capable,  we  gladly  accept  what  they  say,  in  prefer 
ence  to  words  of  our  own.  fully  indorsing  all  ihey 
have  said. 

Wrote  Prof.  CANFIELD  :  "In  its  civic  history  and  ma 
terial  development  and  in  the  character  of  its  citizens 
Kansas  has  always  been  unique  and  attractive.  Born 
in  a  whirlwind  of  political  strife  and  cradled  in  a  storm 
of  National  conflict,  probably  no  State  in  the  Union 
outside  the  original  thirteen  had  more  interesting  be 
ginnings  or  has  kept  a  closer  hold  on  the  attention  of 
the  country  at  large.  It  has  known  all  the  extremes  of 
vicissitude.  More  than  any  other  section  of  the 


GOV.  CHARLES  ROBINSON. 


GOV.  ROBINSON.  175 

Union  has  it  experienced  abounding  prosperity  and 
the  very  depths  of  poverty,  immigration  by  thousands 
and  emigration  by  hordes,  National  favor  and  high 
esteem,  to  be  followed  all  too  quickly  by  a  fall  which 
made  it  a  byword  and  a  reproach  among  all  people. 
It  has  been  devoured  by  locusts  and  by  politicians 
and  partisans  even  more  voracious  and  destructive ;  it 
has  been  seared  by  the  hot  South  winds  and  by  burn 
ing  human  passions;  it  has  suffered  from  months  of 
drought  and  from  the  withering  of  every  hope  of  its 
people ;  yet  again  and  again  it  has  risen  out  of  all  this 
and  more,  and  above  it  all,  and  has  shown  superb 
endurance,  most  intelligent  purpose,  imperial  deter 
mination,  and  magnificent  enthusiasm.  But,  rising 
or  falling,  in  honor  or  in  disgrace,  powerful  or  weak, 
Kansas  has  never  been  dull;  it  has  always  held  the 
centre  of  the  stage — it  has  always  been  at  the  focus 
just  in  time  to  be  thrown  up  large  upon  the  canvas. 

In  many  respects,  perhaps  in  most  respects,  its  peo 
ple  have  been  greatly  under-estimated  and  sadly  mis 
understood.  No  more  earnest,  sincere,  unselfish,  pub 
lic-spirited  block  of  population  can  be  found  in  the 
Union  to-day.  Though  weak  and  worn  and  almost 
wrecked  by  the  border  strife  which  immediately  pre 
ceded  the  civil  war,  even  if  it  were  not  the  immediate 
cause  of  that  struggle,  the  new  State  sent  to  the  front 
a  larger  proportion  of  its  male  population  than  did 
any  sister  State;  while  women  and  children  gathered 
the  golden  harvest,  often  working  long  after  moon 
light  had  fallen  upon  the  fields.  When  the  war  closed, 
with  what  might  be  called  a  fraternal  instinct,  thou 
sands  of  veterans  and  hundreds  of  civilians,  all  excel 
lent  exponents  of  the  strenuous  life,  entered  their 
names  on  the  roll  of  Kansas  citizens  and  began  the 


176  IN  MEMORY  OF 

creation  of  a  mediterranean  republic.  They  built 
their  churches  and  their  schoolhouses  first,  they 
pledged  personal  credit  to  the  utmost  for  public 
improvement,  they  were  determined  to  master  time 
and  space,  and  quickly  to  make  the  civilization  of  that 
Western  State  equal  to  that  of  any  other  section  of 
the  country.  As  some  one  has  wittily  remarked, 
"They  were  the  people  who  started  west  and  had  nerve 
enough  to  push  on,  instead  of  stopping  in  Ohio."  In 
all  the  years  which  have  passed  they  have  dreamed 
dreams  and  they  have  seen  visions,  but  in  either 
dream  or  vision  the  central  thought,  the  all-inspiring 
purpose,  has  always  been  the  betterment  of  the  race. 
Extremists,  even  fanatics,  many  of  them  became— 
some  of  them  still  are.  Often  duped  or  misled  by 
designing  men  and  by  the  self-seekers  who  everywhere 
abound,  undoubtedly  they  have  been.  But  from  the 
standpoint  of  purpose,  intention,  desire,  this  people 
has  always  occupied  an  extraordinarily  high  plane  of 
thought  and  life. 

Charles  Robinson  was  born  in  Hardwick,  Mass.,  in 
1818.  Necessity  early  became  his  stern  taskmaster. 
From  the  time  he  entered  the  old  academy  at  Hadley 
he  was  largely  self-supporting.  At  Amherst  Acad 
emy  he  made  and  repaired  the  desks  and  seats  to  pay 
his  tuition.  For  three  winters  he  taught  in  the  pub 
lic  schools.  He  was  a  student  in  Amherst  College  for 
a  year  and  a  half,  when  threatened  failure  of  eyesight 
compelled  him  to  drop  his  studies  and  seek  medical 
advice.  He  walked  forty  miles  to  Keene,  N.  H.,  to 
find  proper  treatment.  He  became  a  student  of  med 
icine  under  the  physician  who  ministered  to  his 
relief.  He  commenced  the  general  practice  of  medi 
cine  in  Belchertown,  Mass.,  in  1843,  in  his  twenty- 


GOV.  ROBINSON.  177 

fifth  year,  and  almost  immediately  became  an  active 
citizen  of  the  town.  At  an  age  when  the  active  young 
man  of  to-day  who  is  looking  toward  professional  life 
is  still  a  dependent,  and  is  but  half  through  his  course, 
Kobinson  was  an  influential  American  citizen.  In 
two  years  his  reputation  and  practice  had  so  increased 
that  he  removed  to  Springfield,  where  he  associated 
with  himself  Dr  J.  G.  Holland,  and  the  two  opened  a 
private  hospital.  His  zeal  and  intensity  in  all  his 
work,  both  professional  and  civic,  broke  his  health  in 
a  single  year.  After  an  unsuccessful  struggle  for 
renewed  strength,  in  the  spring  of  1849  he  made  the 
overland  trip  to  California,  crossing  the  territory 
which  was  to  be  his  later  home. 

During  the  two  years  spent  in  California — full  to 
overflowing  with  all  the  adventures  of  that  day,  years 
in  which  he  was  "physician,  editor,  restaurant  keeper, 
leader  of  a  squatter  rebellion,  and  a  member  of  the 
State  Legislature" — Eobinson  regained  his  health, 
and  in  1851  returned  to  Massachusetts.  There  he 
remained  till  June  of  1854,  when  he  started  for  Kan 
sas.  From  the  hour  he  crossed  the  Territorial 
line  till  the  day  of  his  death  in  1894,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-six,  he  was  a  conspicuous  figure  in  all  Kansas 
history.  For  the  great  part  of  this  time  he  was  the 
very  central  figure.  It  is  impossible  to  write  this  his 
tory  without  granting  him  this  prominence.  To  pre 
pare  his  biography  is  to  touch  all  phases  of  Territo 
rial  and  State  life  and  experience.  The  first  accredi 
ted  agent  of  the  New  England  Emigrant  Aid  Com 
pany,  the  leader  of  the  Free  State  men  in  all  their 
struggles,  elected  Governor  under  the  Topeka  Consti 
tution  in  1856,  re-elected  under  the  Wyandotte  Con 
stitution  in  1859,  the  first  Governor  after  the  admis- 


178  IN  MEMORY  OF 

sion  of  the  State  and  during  all  the  stress  and  strain 
of  the  civil  war,  State  Senator  for  two  terms,  Superin 
tendent  of  the  Indian  School  at  Lawrence — known  as 
the  Haskell  Institute, — Kegent  of  the  State  Univer 
sity,  President  of  the  State  Historical  Society — this 
is  but  a  partial  list  of  his  public  positions  and  ser 
vices.  In  and  through  them  all  he  was  a  typical  New 
Englander,  intellectual  rather  than  emotional,  cool, 
shrewd,  calculating, — in  a  good  sense  of  the  word,— 
self-contained,  fearless,  and  conscientious.  His  chief 
aim  was  justice  and  equity.  His  temper  was  that  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon,  the  temper  of  law  and  order  and 
truth.  He  was  philanthropic  without  being  senti 
mental,  generous  without  weakness,  considerate  with 
out  undue  concession,  intelligent  in  all  things.  And 
he  was  a  typical  American  citizen.  In  his  opinion  the 
public  business  of  the  State  or  of  the  Nation  is  the 
private  business  of  every  citizen ;  political  parties  are 
the  scaffolding  with  which  to  erect  a  building,  not  the 
building  itself;  legislation  is  to  concern  itself  with 
public  affairs,  not  with  private  pocketbooks;  self-gov 
ernment  is  little  more  than  a  remarkably  well-planned 
co-operative  scheme.  He  was  a  firm  believer  in  a  nat 
ural  aristocracy,  the  leadership  of  the  best  because 
they  are  the  best  fitted  to  lead,  because  they  are  the 
most  efficient,  because  they  can  render  the  largest  and 
most  valuable  public  service;  but  he  was  a  thorough 
and  sincere  democrat  in  advocating  the  widest  path 
way,  the  largest  opportunity  for  all  to  enter  this  lead 
ership  and  this  service." 

Hon.  CHARLES  R  SCOTT,  as  one  of  the  Regents  of 
the  University,  and  in  its  behalf,  in  accepting  the  gift 
of  Gov.  Eobinson's  marble  bust  from  the  State, 
said: 


GOV.  ROBINSON.  179 

"The  story  of  the  life  of  Charles  Bobinson  is  so 
familiar  here,  where  the  greater  part  of  that  life  has 
lived,  that  it  needs  not  be  rehearsed.  It  is  a  heroic, 
almost  a  romantic  story.  It  is  the  story  of  a  man,  a 
man  who  took  early  a  man's  place  in  the  world,  and 
held  it  staunchly  and  sturdily  to  the  end.  I  trust  I 
shall  not  be  misunderstood  when  I  say  it  is  the  story 
of  a  fighter,  a  man  so  constituted  that  he  must  take 
one  side  or  the  other  of  every  question  upon  which 
men  divided;  and  who,  having  chosen  his  ground, 
must  maintain  it  earnestly  and  aggressively  against 
every  challenger.  It  is  the  story  of  a  wise  counsellor, 
of  one  whose  brain  was  always  cool  and  clear,  no  mat 
ter  what  fires  might  be  flashing  from  the  blue  eyes. 
As  nearly  as  any  man  I  ever  knew,  Charles  Eobinson 
deserved  the  tribute  which  the  Laureate  paid  to  the 
Iron  Duke  when  he  said  of  him  that  he  'stood  four 
square  to  all  the  winds  that  blew.'  He  came  as  near 
standing  by  himself,  balanced  by  his  own  judgment, 
requiring  no  strengthening  support  from  other  men, 
either  as  individuals  or  as  aggregated  into  parties  or 
churches  or  societies  of  any  kind.  At  various  times 
in  his  life  he  worked  wTith  various  political  parties, 
but  when  the  particular  object  of  the  work  was  accom 
plished  he  put  the  party  aside,  apparently  with  as 
little  concern  as  he  would  lay  down  a  tool  that  he  was 
done  with.  In  fact  no  fear  of  any  kind,  either  moral 
or  physical,  ever  troubled  him.  He  said  what  he 
thought  ought  to  be  said  with  as  small  regard  to  con 
sequences  as  he  did  what  he  thought  ought  to  be 
done.  And  if  the  words  of  to-day  contradicted  those 
of  yesterday,  that  did  not  concern  him,  for  the  words 
of  both  yesterday  and  to-day  were  honest  words.  He 
did  not  know  what  policy  meant  so  far  as  the  word 


180  IN  MEMORY  OF 

might  be  applied  to  his  own  fortunes.  He  knew, 
doubtless,  as  well  as  everybody  else  knew,  that  he  sac 
rificed  all  the  political  honors  which  a  grateful  and 
admiring  people  would  have  been  proud  to  bestow 
when  he  severed  his  connection  with  the  dominant 
party.  But  the  thought,  if  it  occurred  to  him,  never 
bade  him  a  moment's  pause. 

"Men  of  the  ancestry  and  mould  and  temper  of 
Charles  Robinson  do  not  have  to  hold  public  office  to 
be  a  part  of  the  public  life  of  their  community  or 
commonwealth.  More  than  thirty  years  before  his 
death  Gov.  Kobinson  laid  down  the  only  elective  office 
he  ever  held  and  retired  to  his  farm,  but  as  a  private 
citizen  he  was  hardly  less  a  factor  in  the  affairs  of  the 
State  than  he  had  been  as  its  chief  executive.  As  a 
contributor  to  the  newspapers  and  a  frequent  speaker 
at  the  hustings  and  on  the  platform,  he  contributed 
his  share  to  the  discussion  of  the  questions  that  dur 
ing  all  those  thirty  years  made  Kansas  the  most  inter 
esting  spot  on  earth,  writing  and  talking,  not  to  gain 
some  personal  end,  but  because  the  convictions  within 
him  must  have  utterance.  As  late  as  June  before  his 
death  in  August,  I  saw  him  for  the  last  time  in  life, 
and  although  the  pallor  of  the  fatal  illness  was  on  his 
face,  the  old  time  light  was  in  his  eyes,  and  he  talked 
with  the  old  time  interest  and  positiveness  about  the 
things  that  were  happening  in  the  State  and  the 
world. 

"For  more  than  a  year  it  was  my  great  good  fortune 
to  be  associated  with  Governor  Kobinson  on  the 
Board  of  Regents  of  this  University,  engaged  in 
work  that  was  very  dear  to  the  heart  of  both  of  us, 
and  so  I  learned  to  know  him  intimately.  And  I 
learned  to  know  him  to  be  a  just  man,  a  generous 


GOV.  ROBINSON.  181 

man,  an  inflexibly  honest  man,  and  with  all  his  appar 
ent  austerity,  a  charmingly  genial  and  hospitable 
man,  whom  one  could  love  as  well  as  admire. 

"His  death  came  in  the  fullness  of  time,  when  his 
soul  'was  fit  and  seasoned  for  its  passage,'  and  the 
end  was  painless  and  peaceful.  The  stalwart,  manly 
figure  of  him  has  passed  over  from  the  gaze  of  men, 
the  eyes  are  shut  and  the  voice  is  still  forever.  But 
so  long  as  there  remains  on  the  map  of  the  earth  a 
spot  called  Kansas,  and  so  long  as  there  remains  even 
the  dimmest  tradition  that  there  was  a  long,  heroic, 
and  finally  successful  struggle  there  for  freedom,  and 
po  long  as  there  remains  one  stone  upon  another  of 
the  stately  walls  of  this  university,  which  was  as  the 
apple  of  his  eye,  so  long  will  live  the  name  and  the 
fragrant  memory  of  CHARLES  KOBINSON. 


TO   THE    MEMORY   OF 
HON.  ELI  THAYEB. 

BY   FRANKLIN   P.   RICE,   WORCESTER,  MASS. 

LI  THAYEB  was  born  in  Mendon,  Massachu 
setts,  June  11,  1819.  He  was  a  descendant  in 
the  seventh  generation  in  this  country  from  Thomas 
Thayer,  the  emigrant,  and  in  the  sixth  generation 
from  John  Alden,  who  came  in  the  Mayflower. 

Eli  Thayer  received  his  early  education  in  the  dis 
trict  schools  of  Mendon  and  the  Bellingham  high 
school.  Later  he  attended  the  Academy  at  Amherst 
and  the  Manual  Labor  School,  now  the  Worcester 
Academy,  at  Worcester.  In  1835-6  he  taught  a 
school  at  Douglas,  and  the  next  four  years  assisted 
his  father  in  a  country  store  in  Millville.  In 
May,  1840,  he  re-entered  the  Manual  Labor  School  to 
fit  for  Brown  University,  and  was  entered  a  student 
at  that  institution  in  the  fall  of  that  year.  In  1842 
he  taught  school  at  Hopkinton,  Bhode  Island,  and 
while  there  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Phi  Beta 
Kappa  Fraternity,  an  honor  seldom  conferred  before 
the  senior  year.  In  September  of  1844  the  superin 
tendent  of  schools  in  Providence,  Nathan  Bishop, 
induced  him  to  take  charge  of  the  boys'  high  school 
for  the  remainder  of  the  year  by  the  offer  of  $600, 
This  school,  which  had  proved  unmanageable  in  the 
hands  of  several  masters,  he  reduced  to  order  and 
subjection;  but  in  consequence  of  these  undertakings 
he  lost  a  year  in  college.  He  was  graduated  in  1845, 


HON.   ELI  THAYER. 


HON.    ELI    THAYEE.  1 

the  second  in  his  class.  He  immediately  went  to 
Worcester  to  teach  in  the  Manual  Labor  School,  and 
later  became  principal. 

In  1845  he  purchased  the  rocky  eminence  known  as 
"Goat  Hill,"  and  in  1848  began  the  erection  of  the 
building  called  the  Oread,  which  was  completed  in 
1852.  Here  he  established  the  famous  school  for 
young  women,  which  he  conducted  with  great  success 
until  he  entered  into  his  Kansas  and  Congressional 
work.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  School 
Board  in  1852,  was  an  alderman  in  1852-3,  and  he 
served  in  the  State  Legislature  in  1853-4.  During 
the  first  year  he  became  conspicuous  by  the  introduc 
tion  of  a  bill  to  incorporate  the  Bank  of  Mutual  Ke- 
demption,  which  was  hailed  with  delight  by  bankers 
and  moneyed  men  throughout  the  State,  as  it  afforded 
a  means  of  release  from  the  autocratic  rule  of  the 
Suffolk  Bank  of  Boston. 

But  it  was  in  1854  that  Mr.  Thayer  accomplished 
the  great  act  of  his  life,  which  will  enroll  his  name 
among  the  benefactors  of  mankind,  in  originating 
the  plan  which  saved  Kansas  and  the  other  Territo 
ries  to  freedom,  and  settled  the  destiny  of  the  nation; 
for  if  the  Southern  leaders  had  secured  the  Territo 
ries,  it  would  have  given  them  the  balance  of  power 
for  many  years  to  corne,  and  there  would  have  been 
no  Rebellion;  the  North  would  have  acquiesced,  as  it 
always  had,  in  the  decision  of  a  Congressional 
majority. 

It  was  at  a  meeting  to  protest  against  the  repeal  of 
the  Missouri  Compromise,  held  in  the  old  City  Hall 
in  Worcester,  on  the  evening  of  the  llth  of  March, 


186  IN   MEMORY   OF 

great  slave  empire,  to  include  Mexico,  Central  Amer 
ica  and  Cuba;  and  by  the  latter  and  by  personal  effort 
he  secured  the  admission  of  Oregon  into  the  Union 
against  the  caucus  decision  of  his  own  party.  In 
this  act  he  planted  himself  upon  broad  and  states 
manlike  grounds  in  opposition  to  partisan  dictation, 
and  was  sustained  by  leading  Republican  organs 
throughout  the  country,  although  he  received  some 
censure  at  home.  In  1860,  after  a  most  exciting  can 
vass,  he  failed  of  re-election  by  a  narrow  margin. 

During  the  Rebellion  Mr.  Thayer  proposed  to  Sec 
retary  Stanton  a  plan  for  the  military  colonization  of 
Florida  as  an  effective  method  of  quelling  the  insur 
rection  and  restoring  the  Union.  The  plan  was  ap 
proved  by  President  Lincoln,  several  of  the  military 
leaders,  and  a  majority  in  Congress,  and  was  sup 
ported  by  great  meetings  held  in  Cooper  Institute, 
New  York,  and  in  Brooklyn,  but  other  military  oper 
ations  intervened  and  the  opportunity  passed,  much 
to  the  regret  of  those  interested.  In  later  years  Mr. 
Thayer  advocated  his  colonization  scheme  as  a  rem 
edy  for  polygamy  in  Utah. 

Mr.  Thayer  was  the  author  of  "The  Kansas  Cru 
sade,"  a  graphic  account  of  his  great  work;  and  he 
wrote  much  of  history  for  the  press,  to  show  that  in 
the  events  above  recorded  the  present  and  most 
important  epoch  of  our  country's  history  had  its  ori 
gin.  He  died  at  Worcester,  April  19,  1899. 

Gov.  Robinson,  in  the  course  of  a  letter  in  Septem 
ber,  1887,  to  Joseph  A.  Howland,  of  Worcester,  Mass., 
who  controverted  Mr.  Thayer' s  severe  reflections  on 
the  Garrisonian,  disunion  Abolitionists,  indirectly  in- 


HON.    ELI   THAYER.  187 

quired   of  the  Governor  if  he  indorsed  Mr.  Thayers 
utterances,  to  which  the  Governor  replied: 

"Does  Mr.  Thayer  claim  too  much  credit  for  his 
part  in  saving  Kansas  to  freedom?  I  think  not.  In 
a  letter  to  the  Historical  Society,  when  his  marble 
bust  was  accepted,  not  being  able  to  be  present,  I 
wrote  that  'Kansas  can  never  too  highly  honor  her 
early  friends  without  whose  exertions  freedom  would 
have  been  driven  from  our  borders.  Of  the  long  list 
of  names  that  Kansas  will  ever  delight  to  honor,  that 
of  Eli  Thayer  stands  at  the  head.  It  was  his  brain 
that  conceived,  and  his  indomitable  will  and  energy 
that  accomplished  the  organization  of  emigration, 
without  which  Kansas  and  the  country  would  have 
been  cursed  with  slavery  to  this  hour.  Let  us  see: 
During  the  critical  period  Kansas  Territory  was  all 
pro-slavery  except  Lawrence,  Topeka,  Manhattan, 
Ossawatomie  and  Wabaunsee;  and  all  these  towns, 
except  perhaps  the  last,  were  settled  under  the  auspi 
ces  of  the  New  England  Emigrant  Aid  Society.  So 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  without  these  settlements  Kansas 
would  have  been  a  slave  State  without  a  struggle ;  and 
without  the  Aid  Society  these  towns  would  have  never 
existed.  And  that  Society  was  born  of  the  brain  of 
Eli  Thayer.  Such  being  my  conviction,  I  can  never 
cease  to  honor  his  name  while  life  shall  last.'  Charles 
Sumner  said  he  would  rather  have  the  credit  due  Eli 
Thayer  for  his  Kansas  work  than  be  the  hero  of  the 
battle  of  New  Orleans;  and  I,  if  ambitious  for  fame 
in  future  generations,  would  prefer  the  name  of 
Thayer  to  that  of  Lincoln,  or  Washington  even,  for 
while  these  men  acted  well  their  part  in  official  posi 
tion,  Thayer  invented  the  machinery,  and  engineered 
it,  that  set  at  liberty  four  millions  of  people." 


INDORSEMENTS. 

LETTER  FROM  SECRETARY  ADAMS. 

KANSAS  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY, 

TOPEKA,  May  10,  1881. 
DR.  GEO.  W.  BROWN, 

MY  DEAR  SIR  : — This  Society  is  greatly  indebted  to 
you  for  the  interest  you  take  in  its  object,  manifested 
in  many  ways,  not  the  least  of  which  is  your  history 
of  Kansas,  as  given  in  your  several  publications.  I 
sent  for  and  am  carefully  preserving  two  copies  of  the 
papers  containing  your  "Reminiscences  of  Gov. 
Walker."  But  your  own  copy  which  you  give  us, 
with  your  annotations,  will  be  a  valued  boon. 

To  be  sure,  only  a  few  now  appreciate  the  value  of 
these  records  of  history,  though  written  down  by  the 
actors  and  observers;  but  the  number  of  such  will 
increase  as  time  lapses;  and  they  will,  for  all  time, 
regard  such  work  as  that  done  by  you  as  of  priceless 
value.  I  trust  you  will  not  fail  to  give  us  the  News 
paper  history  of  which  you  write.* 

Our  work  of  collecting  newspaper  history  is  a  spec 
ialty  with  us,  believing  they  are  the  best  materials  of 
history,  and  our  work  being  for  the  whole  State,  and 
not  for  any  one  locality,  we  are  saving  all  the  papers 
of  the  State.  I  think  we  are  doing  better  work  in  this 
line  than  is  being  done  elsewhere.  It  is  our  purpose, 

*I  regret  to  write  that  the  promised  history  of  the  HERALD  OF 
FREEDOM  has  not  been  written,  though  many  falsehoods  in  regard 
to  it  and  its  positions  have  assumed  great  prominence. — BROWN. 


LETTER  FROM  SECRETARY  ADAMS.        189 

in  our  next  report,  to  give  a  complete  chronology  of 
Kansas  Newspapers,  and  that  of  the  HERALD  OF 
FREEDOM  we  must  by  all  means  have — the  true  his 
tory,  with  the  truth  as  to  other  papers. 

Yours  Very  Truly,          F.  G.  ADAMS,  SEC'Y. 


LETTER  FKOM  ACTING-GOY.  STANTON. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  0.,  April  18,  1881. 

MY  DEAR  SIR: — Your  "Reminiscences  of  Gov. 
Walker"  is  before  me,  and  has  been  read  hastily. 
Many  of  the  transactions  you  describe  took  place 
before  I  went  to  the  Territory,  and  I  had  no  other 
means  of  knowing  the  facts  than  what  were  gathered 
from  the  newspapers,  and  the  reports  of  those  who 
professed  to  have  access  to  reliable  sources  of  infor 
mation. 

I  do  not  doubt  you  have  given  a  correct  version  of 
Gov.  Walker's  doings  in  Kansas,  and  of  interviews 
with  him ;  and  I  think  you  have  done  good  service  in 
the  cause  of  truth  by  stating  the  facts  bluntly  and 
plainly. 

As  regards  your  14th  chapter  I  know  the  Governor 
had  some  scruples  about  his  power  to  go  behind  the 
returns.  I  had  none,  for  I  felt  the  frauds  were  too 
palpably  gross  and  patent,  to  admit  of  any  hesitation. 
Neither  of  us  had  any  difficulty  after  we  had  visited 
the  localities,  and  ascertained  the  facts. 

What  you  say  in  the  15th  chapter  about  John 
Speer's  statement,  in  September,  1879,*  surprises  me 

*See  Speer's  representation,  near  the  head  of  page  180,  Kansas 
Memorial  Volume  of  1879. 


190         LETTER  FROM  GOV.  STANTON. 

greatly.  I  do  not  remember  that  any  one  threatened 
Gov.  Walker  and  myself  at  Fish's  below  Blue  Jacket's, 
or  at  any  other  place  on  our  way  down.  If  such  an 
occurrence  had  taken  place,  I  could  hardly  have  for 
gotten  it.  You  are  certainly  right  in  denying  that 
any  such  threats  influenced  Gov.  "Walker  or  myself. 

In  your  account  of  Gov.  Walker's  action  in  bring 
ing  troops  to  Lawrence,  you  say  his  proclamation  was 
"bombastic,"  etc.  I  think  myself,  the  proceedings  in 
that  emergency  placed  the  Governor  at  a  very  great 
disadvantage,  inasmuch  as  the  restless  and  mischiev 
ous  element  of  the  Free  State  party,  with  Lane  at 
their  head,  had  the  tact  to  deny  their  real  purpose, 
and  refrain  from  any  overt  acts  of  a  decisive  charac 
ter;  and  thus  the  Governor's  military  display  looked 
a  little  ridiculous. 

Before  Gov.  Walker  started  for  Washington  I 
begged  him  to  convene  the  Legislature.  I  told  him 
if  he  did  not  do  so,  he  would  find  a  proclamation 
from  me  before  he  should  reach  the  Federal  city. 

On  the  whole  your  book  is  valuable  and  interesting, 
as  showing  much  of  the  inside  operation  of  parties 
and  prominent  actors  in  the  affairs  of  Kansas  at  the 
important  period  of  which  you  write. 
Very  Truly,  Your  Friend, 

FEED.  P.  STANTON. 


LETTEE  FEOM  HON.  ELI  THAYEE. 

PHILADELPHIA,  Pa.,  April  29,  1881. 
DEAR  SIR: — It  gives  me  pleasure  to  acknowledge, 
with  many  thanks,  the  receipt  of  20  chapters  of  your 


LETTER  FROM  HON.  ELI  THAYER.        191 

"Kemiiiiscences  of  Gov.  Walker,"  as  they  have  been 
published. 

It  is  fortunate  for  the  history  of  Kansas,  as  well  as 
for  the  history  of  the  United  States,  that  the  decisive 
struggle  between  freedom  and  slavery  should  be 
recorded  by  the  facile  pen  of  one  who  can  truthfully 
say,  as  did  ^Eneas: 

.    "All  that  I  saw  and  part  of  which  I  was." 

Allow  me  to  express  the  hope  that  no  obstacle  may 
prevent  the  continuance  of  these  narratives  so  long 
as  the  minutest  details  of  this  epoch  of  our  country's 
history — most  potential  in  results — shall  remain  unre 
corded. 

It  is  fortunate,  also,  that  you  have  begun  this  great 
work  while  there  are  many  still  living  who  are  ready 
to  bear  witness  to  the  truthfulness  of  your  words. 

Of  the  minute  details  of  political  action  in  the 
Territory  at  the  time  of  which  you  write  I  have 
learned  more  from  your  pen  than  I  ever  knew  before. 

From  the  very  first  agitation  of  the  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise,  early  in  the  year  1854,  to  the 
end  of  1856,  my  thoughts  and  efforts  were  confined  to 
one  idea.  That  was  to  keep  afc  all  times  in  Kansas  a 
strong  majority  of  Free  State  men.  Always  after  the 
end  of  the  year  1854  we  had  such  a  majority.  That 
was  the  one  grand  point,  and  I  cared  but  little  for 
Shawnee  Legislatures,  Lecompton  Constitutions,  or 
the  pro-slavery  tendencies  or  sympathies  of  the  terri 
torial  officers.  All  these  were  only  the  foam  on  the 
sublime  waves  of  Freedom  sweeping  over  the  prairies 
towards  the  setting  sun.  To  submit  to  the  inevitable 
was  the  sensible  thing  for  slavery  to  do  at  that  time, 


192        LETTER  FROM  HON.  ELI  THAYER. 

for  to  resist  thoss  waves  in  their  majestic  progress 
was  to  make  one  tidal  wave  which  would  bury  slavery 
in  oblivion.  That  was  done  by  the  Rebellion. 

Hoping  you  may  continue  to  revive  these  memories 
of  the  great  struggle,  "the  cause  of  causes,"  I 
remain, 

Very  Truly  Yours,  ELI  THAYER. 


GOV.  ROBINSON'S  INDORSEMENT. 

LAWRENCE,  Kan.,  Jan.  26, 1881. 
FRIEND  BROWN: — So   far  your  "Reminiscences  of 
Gov.  Walker"  are  very  interesting,  and  strictly  accu 
rate  so  far  as  they  cover  matters  of  which  I  was  cog 
nizant. 

On  the  29th  of  March  Gov.  Robinson  wrote  again: 
I  have  read  all  your  chapters  with  increasing  inter 
est,  as  they  appear,  and  as  yet  find  nothing  to  criti 
cise.  Your  chapter  16  contains  much  that  was  not 
personally  known  to  me,  but  so  far  as  I  do  know  it  is 
correct.  Kansas  history  would  be  very  incomplete 
and  one-sided  without  your  statements,  and  I  am 
very  glad  you  have  lived  to  make  them.  Heretofore 
the  effort  has  been  to  make  all  matters  hinge  on  a  few 
conflicts,  on  a  few  insane  movements,  ignoring  the 
vital  questions  that  decided  the  contest  in  favor  of 
freedom.  It  is  high  time  the  truth  was  told,  and  the 
whole  truth,  and  your  "Reminiscences"  were  written. 
No  one  else  has  the  material  and  facts  to  write  this 
part  of  our  history  as  well  as  yourself,  and  I  feel  that 
we  owe  you  more  than  we  can  ever  pay  for  your  ser 
vices  to  the  cause  of  truth. 


LETTER  FROM  GOV.  ROBINSON.         193 

After  completing  the  work  the  Governor  wrote 
again,  as  follows,  on  May  2,  1881 : 

I  have  just  finished  reading  the  slip  containing  the 
"Conclusion"  of  your  "Keminiscences  of  Gov. 
Walker."  To  say  that  I  have  read  every  line  with 
deep  interest  and  great  pleasure,  is  but  half  the 
truth.  I  am  exceedingly  pleased  that  the  political 
history  of  Kansas  is  at  last  being  recorded,  and  by  so 
able  and  competent  a  pen  as  yours.  No  person  can 
better  write  of  these  events  than  yourself,  as  you  are 
a  very  important  part  of  them,  and  were  in  a  position 
to  learn  every  material  fact. 

You  and  I  well  know  that  the  struggle  in  Kansas 
was  chiefly  political,  and  it  was  the  policy  adopted 
by  the  people  which  saved  the  Territory  to  freedom, 
and  not  the  incidental  skirmishes  in  a  few  localities. 
Unyielding  devotion  to  principle  and  unflinching 
moral  and  physical  courage  were  essential,  but  with 
out  political  sagacity  all  would  have  been  lost.  In 
every  instance  the  policy  we  advocated  was  adopted 
by  the  people,  so  far  as  I  remember,  always  excepting 
some  impracticables,  demagogues,  and  a  few  well 

meaning  persons. 

*  *  * 

I  am  more  and  more  convinced  that  it  is  your  duty 
to  keep  your  pen  employed  till  it  has  covered  the 
whole  field  of  the  Kansas  struggle.  Posterity  will 
do  you  ample  justice,  if  the  present  generation  does 
not.  Should  you  continue,  and  publish  your  writ 
ings  in  book  form,  it  will  be  more  valuable  than  all 
the  works  of  the  kind  I  have  seen,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  will  be  in  great  demand. 

Yery  Truly,  C.  KOBINSON. 


194  GEN.  SWING'S  INDORSEMENT. 

LETTEE  FKOM  GENEKAL  EWING. 

FIFTH  AVENUE  HOTEL, 

NEW  YORK,  May  6,  188  L. 
DR.  G.  W.  BROWN, 

DEAR  SIR: — I  have  read  with  great  interest  and 
pleasure  your  "Reminiscences  of  Gov.  Walker."  I. 
took  no  prominent  or  active  part  in  the  public  events 
therein  described,  except  in  the  23d  of  December 
Convention,  and  in  the  campaign  and  election  which 
followed  it;  and  in  the  signal  exposure  of  the  frauds 
by  which  the  attempt  to  make  Kansas  a  slave  State 
was  baffled  and  finally  defeated.  So  far  as  your  nar 
rative  covers  these  most  important  events,  I  believe  it 
to  be  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  history  of  the 
ever  memorable  struggle  for  the  freedom  of  the  Ter 
ritories,  and  fully  accurate. 

Very  Truly  Yours,          THOMAS  EWING. 


LETTER  FROM  COL.  WALKER. 

LAWRENCE,  KAN.,  MAY  9,  1881. 
FRIEND  BROWN: — I  see  by  the  last  Gazette  you 
have  concluded  your  very  interesting  "Reminiscences 
of  Gov.  Walker."  The  subject  of  your  recollections 
never  had  justice  done  him  by  former  writers  on  Kan 
sas  affairs,  and  I  am  pleased  to  know  there  is  one  man 
living  who  has  the  courage  and  ability  to  write  the 
true  history  of  those  dark  days.  It  takes  more  cour 
age  than  I  possess — and  I  always  thought  I  had  a 
good  share  of  it — to  write  the  truth  about  those 
times,  while  so  many  of  the  participants  still  live  to 
criticise  each  trifling  error.  I  believe  I  could  face  a 


195 

twelve  pound  battery  without  flinching;  but  I  could 
not  write  of  those  early  times  and  endure  the  bitter 
personal  assaults  from  those  who  had  less  opportuni 
ties  for  observation  than  myself,  which  would  be  sure 
to  follow. 

Much  of  our  history  has  been  misrepresented.  You 
had  opportunities  of  knowing  much  that  was  trans 
piring  which  was  hidden  from  others.  I  was  located 
near  the  Border  Ruffian  capital;  was  forced  into 
repeated  conflicts  with  the  conspirators,  and  partici 
pated  in  all  the  troubles  to  the  end.  Appointed  U.  S. 
Marshal,  and  elected  Sheriff — the  first  Free  State 
man  serving  in  those  capacities — I  think  I  can  tell 
when  genuine  Kansas  history  is  written.  Of  course 
you  saw  many  things  which  did  not  come  under  my 
personal  observation.  We  used  to  wonder  who  was 
the  correspondent  of  the  St.  Louis  Eepublican,  and 
talked  of  the  correctness  of  the  reports  from  Kansas 
during  the  autumn  of  1857.  I  own  1  was  greatly  sur 
prised  in  reading  your  Eeminiscences,  to  learn  that 
you  were  their  author. 

On  Gov.  Walker's  first  arrival  in  Kansas,  he  sent 
for  me,  and  we  had  a  long  conversation.  He  said  he 
had  heard  of  my  affair  with  CoL  Titus  and  others; 
that  I  was  a  native  of  his  own  State,  of  the  same 
locality  and  of  the  same  name.  We  even  found  we 
were  of  the  same  family.  He  always  treated  me 
afterwards  with  great  kindness  and  confidence. 

You  are  correct  in  your  statement  that  I  was  in  the 
Governor's  tent  and  heard  the  conversation  reported 
by  you  in  regard  to  the  collection  of  taxes,  etc.,  as 
detailed  in  your  llth  chapter,  and  I  can  vouch  for  the 
truth  of  what  you  have  there  written.  I  was  also  a 


196  COL.  WALKER'S  LETTER. 

member  of  the  secret  organization  which  you  men 
tion,  but  I  am  glad  to  write,  I  never  favored  the  mur 
dering  policy.  I  was  always  for  open  war,  not  secret 
assassination. 

Go  vs.  Geary,  Walker,  Stanton  and  Denver,  all, 
were  in  favor  of  "equal  and  exact  justice  to  all  men," 
and,  consequently,  were  true  to  the  Free  State  party, 
though  known  as  Democrats.  Eepublican  as  I  am, 
it  gives  me  pleasure  to  know  that  you  have  done  jus 
tice  to  all  of  them. 

You  may  be  interested  in  an  incident  in  which  I 
took  a  small  part.  While  the  Lecompton  Constitu 
tional  Convention  was  in  session  the  Governor's  sig 
nature  was  desired  for  some  purpose.  He  refused  to 
give  it.  The  Euffians  threatened  to  take  his  life.  He 
fled  to  Secretary  Stanton's  cabin,  on  the  river  three 
miles  east  of  Lecompton — where  you  and  Koberq. 
Morrow  found  him  on  the  19th  of  October — and  dis 
patched  his  then  Aid,  Capt.  Walker,  of  the  regular 
army,  to  me  to  come  and  help  defend  him.  We 
found  Mr.  Stanton  and  the  Governor,  with  another 
man,  and  at  once  barricaded  the  doors  and  windows 
for  an  attack.  About  ten  o'clock  at  night  we  were  vis 
ited  by  a  man  from  Lecompton,  who  said  the  leaders 
had  learned  of  the  Governor's  hiding  place,  and  had 
determined,  if  he  would  not  sign  his  name  to  the 
instrument,  to  kill  him.  But  the  Governor  remained 
firm  and  unflinching,  resolved  to  die  before  he  would 
do  what  he  conceived  a  wrong.  At  the  same  time 
some  of  our  own  party  were  abusing  him  because  he 
was  a  Democrat.  We  remained  on  guard  until  4 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  I  was  sent  to  Lecomp 
ton  to  learn  what  was  transpiring  there.  I  found  the 


HON.  ROBERT  MORROW. 


COL.  WALKER'S  LETTER.  197 

saloons  full,  but  soon  came  to  the  conclusion  from 
what  I  heard,  tftat  their  threats  were  bluster,  so  I 
returned  and  reported,  and  was  soon  after  discharged 
from  duty.  Very  Truly  Yours, 

SAMUEL  WALKBE. 


LETTEK  FROM.  CH  AS.  S.  DUNCAN. 

LAWRENCE,  Kan.,  May  8,  1881. 
DOCTOR  BROWN: — With  regard  to  your  "Reminis 
cences  of  Gov.  Walker,"  I  am  glad  to  say,  after  a 
careful  perusal  of  the  work,  it  embodies  the  exact 
facts,  in  every  essential  particular,  as  they  came  under 
my  personal  observation.  In  reading  I  could  not  but 
feel  grateful  that  one  of  the  "old  guard"  survived 
who  could  so  truthfully  and  minutely  record  every 
important  event  occurring  during  the  period  of  which 
you  write.  I  assure  you,  Friend  Brown,  that  your 
work  is  highly  prized  and  shall  be  carefully  pre 
served.*  Yours  Respectfully,  C.  S.  DUNCAN. 

*See  p.  107.     Mr.  Duncan  is  still  living  at  Lawrence.     He  was 
one  of  our  earliest  and  most  substantial  merchants. 


LETTER  FROM  HON.  ROBERT  MORROW. 

LAWRENCE,  Kan.,  April  21,  1902. 
DOCTOR  BROWN — DEAR  SIR:— I  have  read  the 
advanced  sheets  of  your  forthcoming  "Reminiscences 
of  Gov.  Robert  J.  Walker,  and  the  True  Story  of  the 
Rescue  of  Kansas  from  Slavery,"  with  great  interest. 
Your  statements  are  very  interesting,  and  so  far  as  I 
have  knowledge  are  strictly  truthful. 


198 

You  understood  Gov.  Walker  better  than  most  of 
us.  I  greatly  regret  our  people  did  not  treat  him 
with  more  consideration,  and  not  with  so  much  dis 
trust.  He  gave  us  good  advice,  and  faithfully 
observed  his  promises. 

I  remember  going  with  you  to  Lecompton,  to  invite 
the  Governor  to  come  to  Lawrence.  We  found  him 
and  Secretary  Stan  ton,  two  miles  east  of  Lecompton, 
occupying  a  log  cabin  in  the  woods,  near  the  bank  of 
the  river.  You  describe  very  accurately  the  incidents 
of  that  interview. 

I  lived  at  Lawrence  all  the  time  you  mention,  and 
was  conversant  with  all  the  leading  events  as  they 
transpired.  I  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  of 
Public  Safety,  of  which  you  were  one,  as  were 
Charles  Robinson,  Jas.  Blood,  Wm.  Hutchinson,  C. 
W.  Babcock,  G.  W.  Smith,  Lyman  Allen,  Samuel 
Walker  and  G.  P.  Lowry,  the  latter  serving  as  chair 
man;  and  was  intimately  concerned  with  every 
important  event  connected  with  the  Free  State  cause. 
I  was  one  of  £he  party  after  the  fall  election  of  1857, 
who  went  to  Oxford  to  look  after  the  frauds  there 
perpetrated.  On  our  return  we  met  Gov.  Walker  and 
Secretary  Stanton  on  their  way  there. 

My  recollection  is,  that  I  went  with  you  on  a  sec 
ond  occasion  to  see  Secretary  Stanton,  then  serving  as 
Acting  Governor.  Gov.  Walker  had  left  Kansas. 
Our  object  was  to  induce  him  to  convene  the  Territo 
rial  Legislature  to  head  off  the  Lecompton  Constitu 
tion.  Gov.  Stanton  said  it  would  cost  him  his  official 
head,  but  he  encouraged  us  to  expect  a  proclamation 
from  him  in  the  direction  we  asked. 

In  looking  over  the  names  mentioned  in  your  book 


EGBERT  MORROW'S  LETTER.  199 

as  in  attendance  at  the  Grasshopper  Falls  convention, 
where  the  voting  policy  was  fully  adopted,  I  think 
you  and  I  only  remain.  All  the  rest  have  joined  the 
silent  majority,  but  the  people  of  Kansas  are  enjoy 
ing  the  rewards  of  their  labor. 

We  have  Gov.  Walker,  yourself,  and  those  who 
acted  with  you,  to  thank  for  the  glorious  outcome. 
Even  after  we  gained  control  of  the  Territorial  Leg 
islature  there  were  persons  so  unwise  as  to  urge  that 
the  Territorial  Legislature  adjourn  sine  die,  and  give 
place  to  the  Topeka  government.  I  was  a  member  of 
that  Territorial  Legislature,  and  was  well  posted  in 
the  movement.  Those  who  favored  it  were  very 
indignant  because  the  Territorial  government,  then 
in  Free  State  hands,  and  was  being  wielded  for 
freedom,  would  not  give  way  to  the  new  project. 

I  know  well  the  element  you  had  to  contend  with 
which  did  you  all  the  injury  they  were  capable,  but 
you  have  outlived  them  all.  You  have  done  a  valua 
ble  work  in  writing  your  history.  It  is  only  justice 
to  the  memory  of  Gov.  Walker  that  you,  who  know 
the  truth  so  well,  should  relate  it  for  the  benefit  of 
posterity.  Yours  Truly,  KOBEET  MOKKOW.* 

*Mr.  MORROW  came  to  Kansas  in  the  early  spring  of  1855, 
and  located  in  Lawrence.  He  identified  himself  from  the  begin 
ning  with  the  Free  State  party,  and  with  the  material  interests  of 
the  city,  and  was  one  of  our  most  trusty  advisers  on  all  political 
questions.  He  erected  the  Morrow  House,  the  first  creditable 
hotel  in  the  city,  which  was  greatly  esteemed  under  his  excellent 
management.  Mr.  Morrow  was  a  member  of  the  Territorial 
Legislature  and  voted  for  the  repeal  of  the  bogus  statutes,  and 
served  one  term  in  the  State  Senate.  Faithful  to  every  trust,  he 
and  his  good  wife,  both  far  advanced  in  years,  are  still  in  Law 
rence  where  they  probably  expect  to  spend  the  residue  of  their 
lives.  May  they  be  long  protracted.  Mr.  M's  photograveur 
faces  these  pages. 


THE  LAST  WORDS. 

HE  PEO-SLAVEEY  party  which  had  usurped 
the  Territorial  government  of  Kansas,  and  ad 
ministered  it  in  the  interests  of  slavery,  in  casting  their 
eyes  over  the  field,  and  seeing  who  were  their  most 
active  opponents,  indicted  by  a  servile  Grand  Jury,  un 
der  instruction  of  a  violently  partisan  Court,  Charles 
Eobinson,  G.  W.  Brown,  G.  W.  Smith,  G.  W.  Deitz- 
ler,  and  Gaius  Jenkins,  for  constructive  high  treason, 
an  offense  unknown  to  our  laws.  Yet  these  men 
were  arrested  and  held  as. prisoners  under  that  false 
charge  for  four  months,  guarded  by  a  regiment  of 
United  States  troops.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose 
the  enemies  of  free  institutions  knew  very  well  from 
whom  they  had  most  cause  to  apprehend  danger  to 
the  success  of  their  vile  measures.  During  that  un 
just  imprisonment  the  prisoners  received  from  the 
Poet  Whittier  "Lines"  inscribed  to  them,  see  p.  108 
of  his  "Panorama,"  published  in  1856,  of  which  the 
following  is  the  closing  stanza : 

"God's  ways  seem  dark,  but,  soon  or  late, 
They  touch  the  shining  hills  of  day; 
The  evil  cannot  brook  delay, 
The  good  can  well  afford  to  wait. 
Give  ermined  knaves  their  hour  of  crime; 

Ye  have  the  future  grand  and  great, 
The  safe  appeal  of  Truth  to  Time." 

Kelying  upon  that  assurance,  amid  all  the  malicious 
slanders,  libels  and  distorted  history,  the  writer  has 
been  conscious  that  another  generation,  with  an 
enlightened  vision,  would  discern  who  were  the  REAL 
heroes  that  KESCUED  KANSAS  FROM  SLAVERY  and 


THE   LAST   WORD.  201 

award  them  that  merit  heretofore  rendered  to  aspir 
ing  demagogues,  and  brutal  midnight  assassins. 
These  deliverers  were  the  honest,  conscientious  toil 
ers  who  went  to  Kansas  in  advance  of  the  "heroes," 
taking  their  families  and  their  fortunes  with  them, 
and  who  labored  in  season  and  out  of  season  to  build 
up  homes  free  from  the  curse  of  chattel  slavery. 

Gov.  Robinson,  on  numerous  occasions,  declared  it 
was  not  the  politicians,  nor  aspiring  ambition,  which 
produced  the  result;  but  it  was  the  product  of  honest 
votes,  cast  by  honest  men  in  a  righteous  cause,  that 
made  Kansas  free.  He  predicted  another  generation 
would  give  credit  to  those  who  were  entitled  to  it,  how 
ever  numerous  the  garbled  accounts  of  fiction-writers 
who  make  history  from  reports  of  interested,  sensa 
tional  and  untrustworthy  press  correspondents,  who 
were  more  zealous  for  the  compensation  given  for 
those  services  than  they  were  for  truth.  This  predic 
tion  of  the  Governor,  is  well  expressed  in  the  axiom: 

"Time  fights  the  battles  of  Truth,  an  unwearied  and  unimpas- 
sioned  ally." 

This  truism  is  already  being  verified.  There  are  a 
few  writers,  without  reputation,  who  take  their  cue 
from  the  unreliable  correspondents;  but  the  better 
class  of  historians  have  investigated  for  themselves 
and  do  not  believe,  as  one  of  those  romancers  asserts, 
that  the  Sovereign  Ruler  of  the  Universe  inspired 
assassination,  and  projected  the  murder  of  men  and 
boys  to  carry  forward  a  great  reform.  Of  such  we 
are  glad  to  mention  a  recent  work  by  Prof.  J.  W. 
BURGESS,  of  the  Columbia  University,  in  his  Mid 
dle  Period,  published  by  the  Scribners  in  1897,  p. 471 : 

"With  the  rejection  of  the  Lecompton  Constitu 
tion  by  the  people  of  Kansas,  on  August  2nd,  1858, 


202  THE   LAST   WORD. 

the  struggle  for  Kansas  was  closed.  It  was  to  be  a 
non-slaveholding  Commonwealth  and  a  Republican 
Commonwealth.  The  record  of  this  struggle  is  cer 
tainly  one  of  the  most  remarkable  chapters  in  the 
history  of  the  United  States.  There  is  much  to 
admire  in  it,  much  to  be  ashamed  of,  and  much  to  be 
repudiated  as  foul  and  devilish.  The  prudence,  mod 
eration,  tact,  and  bravery  of  Dr.  Robinson  and  his 
friends  have  rarely  been  excelled  by  the  statesmen 
and  diplomatists  of  the  New  World  or  of  the  Old. 
They  were  placed  in  a  most  trying  situation  both  by 
their  foes  and  by  those  who,  professing  to  be  their 
friends,  endangered  the  cause  more  by  violent  and 
brutal  deeds  than  did  their  open  enemies.  Their 
triumph  over  all  these  difficulties  is  a  marvel  of 
shrewd,  honest,  and  conservative  management,  which 
may  well  serve  as  one  of  the  best  object-lessons  of 
our  history  for  succeeding  generations." 

Other  historians  have  expressed  themselves  no  less 
emphatically.  With  the  whole  truth,  long  sup 
pressed,  in  their  possession,  there  will  be  but  one 
voice  in  the  premises,  and  that  in  denunciation  of  the 
offenders,  of  which  the  words  of  the  lamented  Win- 
wood  Reed  are  specimens: 

"Murder  is  not  less  murder  because  it  is  conducive 
to  development.  There  is  blood  upon  the  hand  still, 
and  all  the  perfumes  of  Arabia  will  not  sweeten  it." 

And  JEschylus:  "Not  all  the  world  poured  in  one 
libation,  can  atone  for  one  man's  blood." 

Then  Sophocles:  "All  the  rivers  of  the  earth  can 
not  wash  away  the  pollution  which  clings  to  the  house 
and  family  of  the  murderer." 

Such  sentiments  will  be  echoed  the  wide  world 
over  when  reason  and  an  enlightened  judgment  gain 
control  over  the  passions  and  prejudices  of  igno 
rance  and  anarchy.  FAREWELL  ! 

May  15,  1902. 


CONTENTS: 

Dedication, Page  3 

Preface, ,  ..    •             5 

CHAP.  PAGE. 

I.  Introduction,       .         .         .  .         .           7 

II.  Outlines  of  History,       .         .  •-.              12 

III.  Arrival  of  Gov.  Walker,     .  .         .          18 

IV.  Interview  with  Gov.  Walker,  .         .      23 
V.  Important  Interview,      .         .  .         .27 

VI.  Gov.  Walker's  Inaugural,    ...         40 

VII.  Strife  Brewing,        ....  42 

VIII.  A  Policy  for  the  Future,  .         .       45 

IX.  Gov.  Walker  in  a  Eage,  ...     53 

X.  An  Army  Marching  on  Lawrence,      .         56 

XI.  Danger  Averted,      ...  62 

XII.  Preparing  for  the  Contest,          .         .         69 

XIII.  Election  and  Fictitious  Eeturns,    .        .     74 

XIV.  Important  Interview  with  Gov.  Walker,     82 

XV.  Score  One  for  Freedom,  97 

XVI.  "Blood  and  Thunder,"      .        .        .  104 

XVII.  In  a  New  Bole,  .        .        .        .      115 

XVIII.  New  Dangers  to  be  Combatted,        .          119 

XIX.  The  Contest  Begins,     .         ...         .127 

XX.  "Brown's  Cellar  Kitchen  Convention,"      136 

XXI.  Condensed  History.  .     *  .  144 

XXII.  Conclusion,  ....  .       152 

APPENDIX: 

End  of  the  Contest,        .  159 


204  CONTENTS. 

In  Memory  of  Gen.  Ewing,  .  .  .  172 
Tribute  to  the  Memory  of  Gov.  Robinson,  175 
To  the  memory  of  Hon.  Eli  Thayer,  .  •  ".  182 

INDOESEMENTS: 

Letter  from  Sec'y  Adams,            .        .  .         188 

Letter  from  Acting  Gov.  Stanton,           .  .     189 

"        "      Hon.  Eli  Thayer,  .         .  190 

Gov.  Eobinson's  Indorsement,        .         .  /    192 

Letter  from  Gen.  Ewing,         .            .        .  194 

"      Col.  Walker,       .        .         .  .-'-194 

"       Chas.  S.  Duncan,            .         .  197 

"       Hon.  Eobert  Morrow,         .  .       197 

The  Last  Word, 200 

ILLUSTBATIONS: 

Gov.  EGBERT  J.  WALKER,  Facing  Title  Page.    This 
photogravure  was  made  expressly  for  these  pages, 
from  a  likeness   found  in   the   Treasury  Depart 
ment,  for  which  it  was  made  about  1849. 
GEN.  THOMAS  EWING,  JR.,  Facing  page  172 

Gov.  CHARLES  EOBINSON,  Facing  page  174 

HON.  ELI  THAYER,  Facing  page  182 

HON.  EGBERT  MORROW,  Facing  page  197 


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